Centorr Vacuum supplies multiple furnaces to Dynacast’s MIM operation
November 25, 2013
Centorr Vacuum Industries (CVI) has announced it will be building its sixth MIM-Vac M furnace in 2013, expanding its customer base for the Metal Injection Moulding market. This, stated the company, includes multiple furnaces for Dynacast International’s new Metal Injection Moulding operation.
A MIM-Vac M furnace from Centorr Vacuum Industries
Dynacast is a global manufacturer headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA. In February 2013 Dynacast announced that it would be adding Metal Injection Moulding to its existing die casting operations that manufacture zinc, aluminium and magnesium components for a wide variety of industries.
The addition of MIM as a manufacturing process means that it will expand its ability to produce small, complex components using a wider variety of metals, strengthening its commitment to producing higher quality, precision engineered components for its customers.
CVI has over thirty years of successful MIM furnace building experience. Its MIM business is primarily comprised of a smaller research-sized unit designed with a 2 ft3 hot zone (12 in. x 12 in. x 24 in.) and a larger production size unit at 9 ft3 with an 18 in. x 18 in. x 48 in. size hot zone, however other sizes are also available.
The new MIM-Vac M (modular design) has a number of design improvements, states CVI, including advanced molybdenum hot zones with “wide-flow” gas-plenum retorts using Sweepgas™ technology for consistent gas flow dynamics over all parts. It has a compact furnace layout with construction on a structural steel base for fast installation and the easy hookup of all utilities, yet provides full access to major components for ease of maintenance, with no cumbersome panels to remove.
A Dry mechanical pumping system with CVI’s proprietary T/P (trap-over-pot) binder condensing trap provides clean and efficient handling of MIM binders with a second large trap after the vacuum pump for improved process cleanliness. The use of advanced Molybdenum alloys (Lanthanated Moly and TZM) in the hot zone and retort offers excellent creep resistance, higher recrystallization temperatures and longer service life.
All systems include a flexible HMI design with CE certification and all MIM-Vac™ furnaces offer temperature uniformity better than +/- 5°C. They operate in partial pressures from 10 torr up to 750 torr of argon, nitrogen, or hydrogen gas using mass flow controllers for automated control.
