Furnace/vacuum brazing

Furnace brazing is a semi-automated process by which metal components are joined using a dissimilar lower filler metal. Furnace brazing allows design and manufacturing engineers to join simple or complex designs of one joint or multi-joint assemblies.

One of the most common forms of furnace brazing is accomplished in a vacuum furnace and referred to as vacuum brazing. Parts to be joined are cleaned, brazing filler metal applied to the surfaces to be joined, then placed into the furnace. The entire assembly is brought to brazing temperature, after the furnace has been evacuated of air, to eliminate any oxidation or contamination occurring as the braze filler metal melts and flows into the joints.

Benefits

• Cost effective process
• Reproducible high integrity metal joining process
• Allows the joining of unweldable, dissimilar and non-metallic materials
• Brazing provides design and manufacturing engineers an opportunity to join simple as well as complex designs with one joint or several hundred joints

Application & materials

Applications include:

1. Aerospace components
2. Industrial gas turbine components
3. Medical, scientific and general engineering components
4. Automotive components
5. Space applications
6. Electronic devices
7. Nuclear components
8. Offshore & petrochemical components

Furnace brazing offers the flexibility to join a wide range of metals such as nickel based alloys, stainless steels, carbon and alloy steels. Other non-ferrous materials can also be brazed including aluminium, titanium and copper.

The materials being joined dictate the type of atmosphere in which the assembly is heated to join its components. In addition to vacuum, protective or reactive atmospheres include hydrogen, nitrogen, a blend of hydrogen and other inert gases, exothermic and endothermic gas, as well as argon, and helium.

Process details

Furnace brazing is the process by which metal components are joined using a dissimilar lower melting filler metal.

Furnace brazing is accomplished using a variety of techniques. They include different furnace designs, which include batch as well as continuous furnaces.

Furnace types used for brazing, include:

• Vacuum
• Controlled atmosphere
• Continuous/mesh belt
• Reducing atmosphere

The service is used to manufacture assemblies with one joint or multiple joints using a dissimilar lower melting filler metal.