Fluidtherm technology has introduced furnaces for quality heat treatment of h-11 and h-13 dies used for aluminium extrusion. These are fluidised bed furnaces with intrinsic temperature uniformity [±3°c] and benefit of uniform heating, which makes sure a good microstructure and minimal distortion. Since these materials need multiple tempering, it is possible to couple the last tempering step with a nitrocarburising process resulting in a high surface hardness and grey matte finish. The flexibility of the fluidised bed furnace to operate at any temperature with any process permits for the hardened furnace to double as the nitrocarburising furnace by merely changing the atmosphere. A uniform monophase compound layer backed by a diffusion zone offers for an extremely tough and hard nitrided surface. Additional advantages of these furnaces are fast heat up and cool down cycles, low investment and maintenance costs, zero pollution and a clean work environment.
