Neutral Hardening – Upton Industries

Externally Heated Salt Pot Furnaces

Upton Externally Heated Steel Lined Salt Bath Furnaces

Upton manufactures externally heated, inner lined salt bath furnaces designed for various applications. These furnaces can be constructed with a carbon or stainless steel pot liner materials as operating conditions warrant.

Externally Heating Method

The external heating method of these furnaces can be either electric by use of resistance type heating elements or gas fired utilizing the unique Upton “Hurricane” design which incorporates tangentially firing burners designed to minimize flame impingement to the inner pot salt containment pot. Combustion systems can be FM or IRI rated.

Upton Externally Heated Salt Bath Furnace Applications

Upton externally heated salt bath furnaces can be employed for service in a variety of high and low temperature, ferrous and non-ferrous thermal processing such as tempering, case hardening, caustic bath cleaning, paint stripping, solution treating of aluminum and vinyl/plastic curing. Externally heated furnace operation is ideally suited for intermittent service duties.

Custom Designed and Engineered

Our in-house engineering and manufacturing allows Upton to custom design furnaces and systems to a customers process and specification requirements, rather than attempting to provide to you standard pre-design equipment, as some of our competitors would attempt to do. Follow-up technical services are available for all Upton thermal process systems.

Our Engineered Thermal Solutions will allow for flexibility in your manufacturing productivity.

Downloads

Videos

Internally Heated Salt Bath Furnaces

Upton Internally Heated Steel Lined Salt Bath Furnaces

Upton manufactures internally heated, metallic inner lined salt bath furnaces designed for use with non-chloride based salt applications. These furnaces can be constructed from carbon or stainless steel materials as operating conditions warrant.

Immersion Heating Method

The immersion heating method of these furnaces can be electric by use of immersion heaters for lower temperature applications, or electrodes/transformer operation as either air or water cooled at elevated temperatures. Gas fired units employ FM or IRI type radiant tube firing.

Thermal Process Applications

Upton Internally Heated Salt Bath Furnaces can be employed for service in a variety of high and low temperature, ferrous and non-ferrous thermal processing such as tempering, case hardening, caustic bath cleaning, paint stripping, dip brazing solution treating of aluminum and vinyl/plastic curing.

Custom Designed and Engineered

Our Engineered Thermal Solutions will allow for flexibility in your manufacturing productivity.

Downloads

High Speed Salt Bath Furnaces

Superior to Vacuum or Controlled Atmosphere

Upton salt bath furnaces offer the ultimate in temperature uniformity for minimized distortion and residual stresses, producing maximum physical properties without requiring a skilled operating technician.

Maximum Work Space with Minimum Bath Area

Through the unique submerged electrode placement design, the electrodes do not occupy any portion of the bath. Only the active face comes in contact with the bath. This single exposed electrode surface minimizes bath size and increases electrode life over immersed electrode designs, while eliminating air/salt interface corrosion attack.

Increased Production Capability

Upton salt bath furnaces offer increased production by nature of conductive immersion heating of the parts while providing a buoyancy which minimizes stresses. This uniform medium of salt heating also creates a protective cocoon of salt on the part surface which retards cooling during transfer to the quenching bath ensuring repeatability of process results.

Custom Designed and Engineered

Our Engineered Thermal Solutions will allow for flexibility in your manufacturing productivity.

Downloads

Upton High Speed Automated Salt Bath Furnace System (U-HS)

Videos

Furnace Roller Cover Open

Furnace Roller Cover Close

Ceramic Salt Bath Furnaces

Maximum Work Space with Minimum Bath Area

Convection Circulation Currents

The Upton submerged electrode placement gives more uniform bath temperatures and salt movement by natural convection currents. Heated salts rise in the bath while cooler salts fall to the electrode area for reheating.

Engineered Triple Ceramic Refractory Wall Construction

The Upton triple refractory wall construction is designed so that the temperature gradient through the wall will cause any salt penetration through the hardbrick bath liner to solidify within the intermediate castable refractory materials. This engineered refractory construction design limits initial salt absorption into the walls from 5 to 8 percent of bath volume, as opposed to 140 to 150 percent absorption experienced by some furnace designs using dual refractory wall construction with steel outer shells.

This engineered triple wall construction allows for the furnace to become a monolithic structure, sealing the refractories and minimizing the potential of outer wall distortion or furnace leakage.

Electrode Placements Give Clear Working and Cleaning Area

The Upton submerged electrode design creates a clear bath volume free of any protruding obstructions, allowing for maximum working area while providing for ease of bath maintenance.

Upton Ceramic Salt Bath Furnace Designs

Upton Ceramic Salt Bath Furnaces can be employed for service in a variety of ferrous and non-ferrous thermal processing in either air cooled or water cooled electrode and transformer designs.

Thermal Process Applications

Upton salt bath furnaces are used for various high temperature ferrous and non-ferrous thermal processing applications such as neutral hardening, Austempering, Marquenching, tempering, case hardening, and dip brazing.