One of the main functions that conveyor belt furnaces have is sintering. Conveyor belt furnaces can easily satisfy the temperature requirement and the need for mass production. Due to that, belt furnaces have become more popular in sintering applications recently. What sintering does is that it forms a solid mass of material through heat and pressure. During this process, materials diffuse across each other and become a high-density entity without liquefaction. Sintering is wildly used in belt furnaces’ applications, such as direct bonded copper (DBC), solar panel circuit printing, Lithium-iron powder (especially LiFePO4) manufacturing, and various ceramic products. A properly maintained furnace can not only extend its service life but also guarantee a great quality of the products that it produces. There are five key steps that Torrey Hills Technologies recommend their customer to do to ensure that the furnace is well taken care of.

Daily maintenance and documentation

Please strictly abide by the users’ manual. It is best to keep a good record of the operation and maintenance files, also calculate the cumulative working time of the operation at the same time. Thus, allow furnace operator to clearly understand the technical status and trend of changes, as well as quickly find problems and solve them in a timely manner.

Check it before use

If the belt furnace has been repaired recently, it should be thoroughly inspected before being used again. For example, check whether the temperature of equipment is too high, whether the heating element is burned out, whether the heating element’s temperature is even, or whether the heating element is white, etc.

Don’t overload

Do not overload the belt furnace because there is a limitation for the temperature of internal alloys This temperature refers to the maximum surface temperature of the component in dry air, and some components are hotter than the setting temperature of the furnace.

Don’t contact the heating elements with the products

The heating element should not be in contact with the product. Also, when measuring the uniformity of the furnace, pay attention to the binding position of the temperature detector (ex. thermocouple), the distance between them, and the heating elements.

Keep the curtain closed for at most times

After the furnace is heated, do not keep the curtain open for a long time. Electric heating elements are prone to chemical reactions when huge temperature changes occur, causing oxidation and peeling.

Sintering belt furnaces are widely used for sintering, brazing, drying, and hermetic packaging of semiconductor devices. It is great for continuous operation, high production efficiency, and a wide application range. Pay attention to the above problems when using a sintering belt furnace and make it last longer!

Read more: The five key steps to make a belt furnace last longer.