Give Your Forge a Boost with an Elevated Combustion Design
There are hundreds of considerations to make when optimizing your forge furnace for maximum throughput. To ensure you’re investing wisely, this 3-part series breaks down the important features of an optimal forge furnace design:
How your forging operations go into considering the forge structure and styles (Chapter 1)
Considerations for optimizing your combustion design (Chapter 3: this article)
We’ve already talked about how market demands influence business, and how we’re only just climbing out of Covid-related supply-chain challenges that left manufacturing (and many other businesses) scrambling. But manufacturing is coming back strong–especially in the metal processing and heat-treating industries! So, Onex is here to help you determine what you need in order to meet that growing demand.
And a key part of our process is designing super-efficient combustion systems.
Critical Factors in Combustion Design and Engineering
First, we need to determine your burner configuration. Choosing the right number, size, and placement of burners will make sure your furnace heats parts to the temperature you need without damaging them. Much of this is based on the interior area of your furnace, the material composition and size of your parts, how they move in and out of your furnace, and how much heat is lost when that happens.
3D Model of Combustion System
In addition to that, some heat will always escape through the sidewalls or the flue. We use CAD models to calculate your overall heat loss and to determine the BTUs required to heat your parts. We divide that by the number of burners. The wider the furnace, typically the bigger the burners, so that they push the heat harder to reach the other side of the furnace quicker.
Refractory Fiber Combination Module Install
It’s also important to consider the level of control you want to have over the internal workings of your furnace along with any potential problems that may arise and ongoing maintenance requirements. We encourage customers to go with a furnace design that makes servicing and maintenance a lot quicker, cheaper, and easier to address. An example of this would be splitting burners into different zones with their own thermocouples to provide more adaptability and stability.
Combustion Assembly in Process
Conclusion
No two furnace systems are alike. They may operate the same way, but there will be subtle differences between product materials, work zones, soak times, uniformity requirements, operating systems, and customer preferences. In each instance, a furnace and combustion system will require a unique engineered solution.
Before making an investment in a new or upgraded furnace, it makes sense to learn who has ‘seen a thing or two’ in the furnace world and can best solve your unique needs. Stay up to date and keep up with growing demand with the help of a trusted partner who can maximize the return on your investment.
Looking to Boost Your Forge Throughput in 2023?
Call us at (814) 838-9638 for budgetary numbers to help with planning for the year ahead.
