Vacuum Induction Melting
Royce at the University of Sheffield combines computational material design, high-throughput materials discovery, rapid scale-up, and material property screening, to deliver a step-change in the manner novel materials are developed for specific applications.
Our capabilities support the key technical challenge of innovating processes to efficiently fabricate and test material libraries, whilst simultaneously capturing sufficient information which can be shared with manufacturers to enable rapid deployment to occur.
OUR EQUIPMENT:
| Consarc | 10kg VIM |
| Consarc | 25kg VIM with ISM |
CONSARC - 10KG VIM
Vacuum Induction Melting (VIM) furnace for alloy manufacture.
USES/APPLICATIONS
This equipment makes it possible to refine metals and alloys, and produce:
- Co alloys for medical applications
- Special steels for nuclear applications
- Complex Ni-based alloys for jet engine and power plants
- Light aluminium alloys for aerospace and automotive applications
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The VIM system is the perfect tool for small-scale Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, and Al-based alloy production and R&D purposes. Through control of chamber pressure, temperature, and with the help of inductive melt stirring, it is possible to obtain homogenous alloys with desired chemistry. Melting under vacuum conditions enables slag-free melting and riddance of unwanted dissolved gasses and elements.
The VIM system has a small (for 5kg) coil in addition to the large (for 10kg) one, which makes it possible to produce relatively smaller samples. Overmelt charger allows for making alloying element charging, sample taking, and temperature measurement via thermocouple. The furnace also benefits from an optical pyrometer, which makes it possible to measure the temperature of the metal without contact. It also has a rotating mould stage to cast multiple samples in one heat. Maximum mould height can be 350mm.
DETAILED SPECIFICATIONS
Equipped with:
- Diffusion pump for rapid vacuuming up to 10-5 mbar
- User-friendly PLC-based controls with touch panel
- Full data logging
- Easy additions charging with power-driven overmelt charger
- Manual crucible tilting
LOCATION
Royce Discovery Centre, Harry Brearley Building, 5 Portobello Street, Sheffield, S1 4ND
CONSARC - 25KG VIM WITH ISM
Vacuum Induction Melting (VIM) furnace with ISM coil for alloy manufacture.
USES/APPLICATIONS
This equipment makes it possible to refine metals and alloys, and manufacture:
- Ti alloys for aerospace and medical applications
- Co alloys for medical applications
- Special steels for nuclear applications
- Complex Ni-based alloys for jet engines and power plants
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The VIM system is a perfect tool for small-scale Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Al-based alloy production. The furnace is also able to produce the alloys of some reactive metals such as Ti and Zr in a water-cooled copper crucible using the ISM coil.
By controlling the chamber pressure and the temperature, and with the help of inductive melt stirring, it is possible to obtain homogenous alloys with desired chemistry. Melting under vacuum conditions enables slag-free melting and riddance of unwanted dissolved gasses and elements. Overmelt charger allows making alloying element charging, sample taking, and temperature measurement via thermocouple.
The furnace also benefits from an optical pyrometer, which makes it possible to measure the temperature of the metal without contact. Maximum mould height can be 700mm.
DETAILED SPECIFICATIONS
Equipped with:
- Diffusion pump for rapid vacuuming up to 10-5 mbar
- Partial pressure operation in a pressure set between 20 mbar - 100 mbar
- User-friendly PLC-based controls with touch panel
- Full data logging
- Additions charging with manual overmelt charger
- Power-driven crucible tilting
LOCATION
Royce Translational Centre, Sheffield Business Park, Europa Ave, Tinsley, Sheffield, S9 1ZA
ENQUIRE HERE: royce@sheffield.ac.uk