Students in the University of Washington's mechanical engineering program successfully petitioned the Dean of Engineering for a new furnace at the school's Engineering Instructional Shop as a replacement for an antiquated, unreliable, smaller unit. The new furnace, a model HL7-P36 from Lucifer Furnaces Inc., Warrington, Pa., with a work chamber of 18"x24"x36", will allow students to heat treat more parts in-house.
"A new oven with modern controllers will allow students to design parts that can be heat treated in house instead of sent out at a high cost per part," said Shop Supervisor Kevin Soderlund. "This furnace's larger capacity allows for programming soak times and is safer to run."
Another major improvement over the original equipment is the ability to program heat treatment cycles that can then be run automatically. Programming options including temperature, hold time and ramp rate allow students to achieve the specific crystal structure and properties required for their applications. In addition to heat treatment, the furnace can be used in casting and forging processes, making the new furnace a valuable asset to all students, regardless of whether they are majoring in engineering.
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