VACUUM ARC MELTING FURNACE

PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY

In the vacuum arc furnace, metals are melted in a water-cooled copper crucible. This prevents the incorporation of impurities, which appear during processing in ceramic or graphite crucibles. This is especially important for refractory metals such as zirconium, titanium, vanadium and their alloys, as these materials are very reactive.
 
The heating is implemented with a high-energy plasma arc. This allows for melting materials with melting points of up to 2,200°C.
 
As well as metal melting processes, we also perform refinement melting processes. This specific method reduces volatile elements such as melting sodium, potassium, calcium, etc. Presently, GfE operates vacuum arc furnaces for melting volumes of up to 300 kg.
 
Typical vacuum arc alloys include titanium aluminum, gamma titanium aluminum, titanium zirconium, titanium niobium, titanium hafnium, titanium tantalum, titanium vanadium, zirconium chromium, zirconium aluminium, zirconium yttrium, niobium titanium and nickel aluminum.