Industrial Cleaning Furnace / Atmosphere Controlled Cleaning Furnace / Thermal Degreasing Furnace

Equipment Positioning

A cleaning furnace is a special heat treatment device that removes oil stains, grease, cutting fluids, residual coatings and organic impurities on workpiece surfaces through high-temperature pyrolysis, gasification and oxidative combustion. With high-temperature environments combined with controlled atmosphere, organic contaminants on workpiece surfaces are decomposed, incinerated and eliminated. It can also perform auxiliary processes including workpiece preheating, stress relief and surface activation.

Classified into batch type and continuous type, it is widely applied in pre-treatment before heat treatment, metal part renovation, mold cleaning, powder metallurgy, electronic component processing and pre-coating treatment. Workpieces after cleaning are free of residual oil and carbon deposits, meeting the requirements of subsequent processing and clean production standards.

Applicable Workpiece Categories

1. Heat treatment workpieces: Bearings, gears, standard fasteners, stamping parts and machined components

2. Molds: Die-casting molds, injection molds, forging molds and heat treatment tooling fixtures

3. Tubes & wires: Oil well pipes, welding consumables, spring steel, copper and aluminum wires

4. Special workpieces: Coating hangers, sintering trays, electronic ceramics, lithium battery accessories and powder metallurgy green compacts

Main Treatment Processes

High-temperature degreasing, thermal pyrolysis degreasing, carbon deposit removal, coating burnout, organic matter gasification, workpiece preheating and surface activation

2. Main Classification Methods

2.1 Classified by Operation Mode

(1) Batch-type Cleaning Furnace

Workpieces are loaded and unloaded through a single furnace door and processed batch by batch. It features high flexibility and suits small-batch production with diversified specifications as well as large molds and toolings.

Common types: Box-type cleaning furnace, bogie hearth cleaning furnace, pit-type cleaning furnace

(2) Continuous Cleaning Furnace

Adopting straight-through assembly line structure with mesh belt, roller hearth or pusher feeding mechanisms for 24-hour non-stop operation, it is ideal for mass production of standardized workpieces.

Common types: Mesh belt cleaning furnace, roller hearth cleaning furnace, pusher-type cleaning furnace

2.2 Classified by Working Principle & Medium

(1) Oxidative Combustion Cleaning Furnace (Atmospheric Environment)

Sufficient air is introduced into the furnace. Grease and organic substances are fully oxidized and combusted at high temperature, decomposed into carbon dioxide and water vapor and discharged along with flue gas.

• Features: Simple structure, low investment and high cleaning efficiency

• Application: Ordinary carbon steel, structural parts and hanging toolings where slight surface oxidation is acceptable

(2) Inert Atmosphere Pyrolysis Cleaning Furnace

The furnace is filled with inert gas such as nitrogen to isolate oxygen. Organic substances undergo high-temperature pyrolysis and gasification under oxygen-free or low-oxygen conditions, followed by emission through tail gas treatment systems.

• Features: No oxidation or decarburization on workpieces with original metallic surface retained perfectly

• Application: Stainless steel, alloy steel, precision parts, non-ferrous metals and workpieces requiring subsequent bright heat treatment

(3) Catalytic Cracking Cleaning Furnace

Built-in catalytic modules lower the decomposition temperature of organic pollutants, enabling degreasing and decontamination at medium temperature with lower energy consumption and minor thermal deformation of workpieces.

• Application: Thin-walled components, precision small parts and workpieces intolerant to high temperature

(4) Vacuum Cleaning Furnace

The furnace chamber is evacuated to vacuum, where organic substances are rapidly gasified and removed under negative pressure and high temperature to achieve the highest cleanliness level.

• Features: No oxidation, no smoke dust and thorough cleaning effect

• Application: High-precision industries including aerospace, semiconductors, medical devices and high-end electronics

2.3 Classified by Heating Energy Source

• Electric heating cleaning furnace: Precise temperature control, open-flame-free and low emission, the preferred option for clean workshops and precision workpieces

• Gas-fired cleaning furnace: Large heat load and fast temperature rise, suitable for large-tonnage mass production equipped with low-NOₓ combustion systems