Analysis and Improvement of Materials and Structures in Normalized Furnace Material Basket

It is reported that the heat-treated workpiece is placed in the basket of the normalizing furnace, and the entire heat treatment process is completed through the circulation of the basket on the production line. The quality of material management design directly affects the reliability of the operating system and the quality of the workpiece. The basic requirements for the material basket are light weight, long service life, good ventilation, and reliable operation. The material pipe mainly consists of a chassis and a side basket. Materials include 1Cr25Ni20Si2, 3Cr24Ni7SiNRE, HR33Nb, etc.
The material basket has many problems in use, mainly due to jamming during operation and short service life. Generally, there are fewer problems with the basket in the early stages of use, and cracking, deformation, and other problems begin to occur after 3 months of use. Cracked or fractured parts can easily expose or fall off the discharge basket of the workpiece, damage the rollers and radiation tubes in the normalizing furnace, and in severe cases, jam the transmission of the basket, affecting the operation of the entire transmission system. In addition, due to multiple heat treatments required for the material basket, changes in internal structure can easily cause an increase in external dimensions, and the material tray often gets stuck at the guide point inside the furnace, affecting transmission.
The improvement of the material basket mainly focuses on the materials and structure. In terms of material selection, the main focus is on cost-effectiveness. Comparing baskets with the same structure, material improvement can effectively reduce net weight and increase lifespan. In the process of cooperation with many companies, HR33Nb material can effectively improve the service life of the basket and reduce the net weight.
In terms of structural design, split structure is superior to integral structure, as it is easy to replace damaged components. In the design of the guiding function of the material tray, attention should be paid to the size of the chamfer or rounded corner not being too small to avoid unclear guiding effect; When preventing cracking and deformation, attention should be paid to the influence of thermal expansion, and U-shaped and 0-shaped thermal expansion rings should be added in the design to release thermal expansion.
Through continuous improvement of the materials and structure of the furnace, the operation of the material basket is smooth, the failure rate is low, and the service life is significantly improved.