3530 SERIES GENERAL PURPOSE
Workhorse® Furnaces
The Workhorse® is Centorr Vacuum Industries' production oriented offering for a variety of heat treatment, brazing, hardening, and sintering operations.

VACUUM/CONTROLLED ATMOSPHERE BATCH FURNACE
The basic design comprises of three standard hot zone sizes in four different temperature ranges (1000°C, 1315°C, 1650°C, and 2200°C), with a long list of optional equipment that makes this one of the most versatile custom-designed furnaces available today. The furnace chamber is console-mounted for a compact and highly efficient design and is a "front-loading" design which offers better ergonomics and temperature uniformity compared with vertical top/bottom loaders or round hot zones.
Unlike laboratory or smaller research furnaces, the Workhorse® contains features only found on high-end heat treat furnaces, such as a stainless steel interior vacuum chamber with manual door clamps; heavy duty Molybdenum or Tungsten rod heating elements; and all-metal Tungsten, Molybdenum, or SS radiation shield hot zone for fast heating and cooling, and excellent process cleanliness. You won't find any refractory ceramic insulation or graphite felt/board in this hot zone.
Standard Furnace instrumentation includes a programmable controller with PLC for process control. Name brand vacuum sensors and gauges are available on all systems as well as analog/ digital chart recorders. CVI's "one-button start" control system initiates a complete cycle including pumping, heating, and cooling modes. A full complement of program interlocks and safeties ensures safe and efficient furnace operation and reduces the chance of operator vacuum pumping errors, with our unique "keylock" override design.
The Workhorse® furnace line is available with high-vacuum or low vacuum pumping systems and can include Diffusion pumps, Turbomolecular pumps, or Cryogenic pumping systems, with or without cold traps and refrigerated baffles. A variety of processing environments are available including high/low vacuum and partial and/or positive pressures of Ar, He, and N2 gases, or H2 process gas with our Factory Mutual approved G-10503A gas system.
Variations of the standard Workhorse® design are available for Co-Firing (Series 3560) and Metal Injection Molding (Series 3570). With over 500 units in the field, the Workhorse® design is one of the most proven production designs for heat treating and brazing furnaces worldwide.
Features
- Cold Wall Vacuum furnace design with stainless steel inner jacket and outer jackets with baffled water cooling.
- No epoxy coated surfaces on chamber interiors results in higher vacuum integrity.
- Heavy duty rod elements used instead of thin strip or foil elements which can be easily damaged. Hot zones use a 30° rule to ensure proper radiation on all sides.
- Operation to 2600°C with two- or four-sided heating elements in partial pressures from 10-3 torr up to 1-3 psig positive pressures of Argon, Nitrogen, Helium, and Hydrogen.
- PLC with Industrial Programmable Controller or PC system using Intellution™ FIX32 HMI software customized by CVI for vacuum furnaces, with extensive data acquisition; and remote operation capabilities.
- High and low vacuum pumping systems including diffusion, cyrogenic, and turbomolecular.
- G-10504A Partial Pressure control system (1-1000 microns) available for suppression of low vapor pressure braze compounds, and our G-10503A positive pressure Hydrogen gas system with FM approval.
- Graphic control panel shows location of vacuum pumps and system status using indicator lamps, and provides for manual operation of the furnace.
- Water cooled power cables for effcient power capacity instead of low cost welding cables.
- Integrated water cooling piping with color-coded hoses.
- Analog Ammeters and Voltmeters on control cabinet for each leg of the power supply for operator feedback.
Specifications
STD MODEL* | USABLE CU. FT. | EFFECT HOT ZONE WxHxD (in/mm) |
---|---|---|
I-3024 | 1 (28) | 12 x 12 x 12 (300 x 300 x 300) |
II-3040 | 2 (57) | 12 x 12 x 24 (300 x 300 x 610) |
III-3056 | 3 (85) | 12 x 12 x 36 (300 x 300 x 913) |
4060 | 4.5 (127) | 18 x 18 x24 (457 x 457 x 610) |
4860 | 9 (255) | 18 x 24 x 36 (457 x 610 x 914) |
5672 | 16 (453) | 24 x 24 x48 (610 x 610 x 1220) |
*Custom sizes available upon request.
Options
Optional Features
- Manual rotameter or Mass Flow Controllers for precise, repeatable gas flow.
- Integrated cooling fans available with or without integral heat exchangers.
- CE / VDE / TüV / CSA approvals and other non-U.S. standards for compliance.
- Rigid or Flexible water cooled busswork for improved maintenance and best electrical efficiency.
- Chambers constructed of stainless steel interiors to provide improved vacuum pumping performance when compared to mild steel epoxy coated chambers. We grind smooth all internal welds, and polish them.
- Stainless steel outer jackets available for long furnace life in areas with poor water.
- Cylindrical chamber are structurally more sound, avoiding the multiple welds and resultant stresses inherent in a rectangular chamber.
- The doors of the chamber are dished for strength thereby avoiding the possibility of warpage.
- Integrated water flow indicators/flow switches with low water alarm setpoint for safe operation.
Applications
Alloys Processed
- Stainless Steels
- Ferrous and Non-Ferrous Alloys
- Tool Steels
- High Speed Steels
- Ti, Nickel, and Superalloys

Contact Us
800.962.8631
603.595.7233