Vacuum Heat Treatment Technology

DALIAN, China - March 16, 2025 - PRLog -- Vacuum heat treatment is particularly suitable for high-precision molds that require stable dimensions and performance. This article provides a brief overview of the technology from the perspectives of its working principles, main techniques, application areas, and advantages and disadvantages.

Definition and Principles of Vacuum Heat Treatment

Vacuum heat treatment refers to the metal heat treatment process in which metal materials are heated under a pressure lower than one atmosphere (i.e., under negative pressure). It involves heating, insulating, and cooling metal materials in a vacuum environment to improve their physical and chemical properties.

The working principles of vacuum heat treatment technology mainly involve the following steps:

-Vacuum Conditions: The vacuum furnace extracts internal gases to reduce pressure, creating a low-pressure, oxygen-free environment. This environment avoids oxidation, corrosion, and other issues.

-Heating: Heating elements inside the vacuum furnace (such as resistance wires or resistance furnaces) convert electrical energy into thermal energy, heating the material to the required processing temperature.

-Insulation: The control system regulates the power of the heating elements to maintain a constant temperature, ensuring the material is fully insulated at the desired temperature for a certain period.

-Cooling: After turning off the heating elements, the cooling system is activated, typically using water or gas cooling, to rapidly lower the temperature and solidify the material's microstructure.

Vacuum Heat Treatment Techniques

Vacuum heat treatment techniques for molds include vacuum quenching, vacuum tempering, vacuum carburizing, vacuum nitriding, and vacuum metal infiltration.

– Vacuum Quenching: Vacuum quenching refers to the process of heating and rapidly cooling mold materials in a vacuum environment to achieve hardening and strengthening. The vacuum environment avoids oxidation and decarburization, resulting in better surface quality and higher hardness. Additionally, vacuum quenching reduces the risk of deformation and cracking. It is widely used in the treatment of various mold steels, high-speed steels, and stainless steels to improve their wear resistance, impact resistance, and service life.

– Vacuum Tempering: Vacuum tempering refers to the process of heating and slowly cooling quenched mold materials in a vacuum environment to eliminate quenching stress and improve material toughness. Vacuum tempering reduces deformation and cracking during use while enhancing the mold's toughness and impact resistance. It is commonly used as a follow-up treatment to ensure stable performance during use.

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