The custom vacuum system for low pressure carburizing (LPC) and hardening – UniCase Master® Custom
The vacuum system for single-piece flow vacuum heat treatment with distortion control and the highest possible process repeatability on a single part adjusted to your personal needs
The UniCase Master Custom – it’s the vacuum heat treatment system for individual vacuum heat treatments that utilizes low pressure carburizing with quenching in nitrogen for single-piece processing of mechanical transmission components such as gears, shafts, rings, sleeves, etc. made from regular, special case and through hardening steels. The system can also be customized for bright annealing and vacuum brazing in a single-piece-flow manner.
This system notably increases precision and repeatability of heat treatment results and reduces production costs.
The system is fully automated and easily integrated with in-line production.
The system consists of a vacuum heating chamber (with a Low Pressure Carburizing capability) and a high pressure nitrogen quench chamber equipped with transportation mechanisms. Parts are heated up to process temperature in the heating chamber under vacuum, which perfectly protects the part surfaces against contamination and unexpected composition changes.
Significant improvements are hidden in the quenching process, specifically the reduction of distortion. This is done primarily by using a high-pressure gas quenching system installed in the quenching/unloading chamber. The system utilizes a proprietary arrangement of cooling nozzles that surround the part and ensure a uniform flow of cooling gas from all directions: top, bottom, and sides.
We refer to this as “3D” cooling. In addition, a table spins the part, further enhancing quench uniformity. We refer to the spinning motion as the fourth dimension, allowing us to “4D” quench parts for the best possible uniformity. The cooling nozzle pattern can be adequately adjusted to fit the particular part size and shape. The entire nitrogen cooling system provides powerful and uniform quenching which results in perfect repeatability, a significant reduction of distortion, and finally, its control. Neither oil nor helium is needed anymore. The quenching power of the system can be fully customized to fit specific needs in terms of the cooling speed of a particular part.
The single piece-flow method, while parts are passing through heat treatment one by one, enables full integration into in-line manufacturing, side by side with CNC machines. It eliminates heat treatment fixtures, material logistic cost and time, as well as shortening the production cycle. Moreover, repeatability of quenching results with distortion control and reduction provides a large potential for the reduction of hard machining costs.
In addition, every single part is monitored while heat treated, providing accurate reporting with 100% traceability and quality control.
The system and applied technology is safe, clean and environmentally friendly.
/ Low pressure carburizing
/ Brazing
/ Bright annealing
/ High pressure nitrogen quenching
/ Integration into in-line production
/ Adoptable working zone size
/ Customized system configuration
/ Compact design, compact footprint
/ Low utilities consumption
/ No uncontrolled emissions of process gases
/ Design customized for given part type and process
/ Control and reduction of distortion
/ Perfect precision and repeatability of results
/ Elimination of IGO
/ No oxidation / no air presence
/ Ideal part surface
/ High volume production
/ Operational flexibility, on demand start/stop
/ Full automation, in-line manufacturing integration
/ 100% traceability and examination of every single part
/ No human involvement and impact
/ Nitrogen quench as fast as oil (neither oil nor helium is needed)
/ Elimination of heat treatment fixtures and material logistic
/ Elimination of oil and oil vapor contamination (safety and environment)
/ Elimination of washers and chemicals
/ Elimination of high-temperature radiation and fire risk
/ Safe and environmentally friendly technology
/ Bright hardening (High Pressure Gas Quench)
/ Bright annealing
/ Vacuum / brazing
/ Transmission
/ Bearing
/ Machinery
/ Aerospace
/ Fabricated Metal products
/ Higher alloy and special steels for gas and oil quenching
/ many times less hard machining time,
/ elimination of many post-machining operations,
/ low pressure carburizing / high pressure gas quench,
/ fast and efficient carburizing,
/ elimination of fire and explosion hazard,
/ ideal surface quality,
/ elimination of IGO,
/ clean and enviromentally friendly production.
