Step-Type Box Furnace

Coating Industry Competitiveness

In recent years, with the continuous advancement of advanced manufacturing and automation technologies as well as strengthened environmental protection efforts in the country, a large number of electro-galvanized parts are being replaced by zinc-aluminum treatments. High-quality surface treatment of parts must be achieved by highly efficient and intelligent coating production equipment. Therefore, the demand for high-performance, environmentally friendly, and intelligent zinc-aluminum coating production equipment is steadily increasing.

At the same time, driven by the growth of domestic industries such as automotive components, construction machinery, railway transportation, municipal pipelines, and power equipment, both the demand volume and performance requirements for zinc-aluminum coated parts are rising. There is a vast market potential for domestically produced, high-end intelligent coating production equipment to substitute imports, revealing a very promising market outlook.

Based on the digestion and absorption of advanced foreign technologies, combined with the current situation of domestic tunnel furnace equipment and customers’ (OEMs’) higher requirements for automation levels, prevention of part mixing for standard and component parts, and production quality traceability, Junhe has developed the Step-Type Box Furnace. Traditional furnace production methods cannot effectively avoid part mixing and face challenges in quality traceability, while also suffering from high energy consumption and large floor space.

In response to these issues and demands, Junhe has developed a new type of sintering furnace—the Step-Type Box Furnace—which features a compact footprint, energy efficiency, environmental friendliness, prevention of part mixing, and high production quality traceability.

1. Traditional tunnel-type sintering furnaces use a single-layer mesh belt, where production capacity and cycle time determine the furnace length. The improved Step-Type Box Furnace transforms the one-dimensional planar length into a three-dimensional structure, significantly reducing floor space by approximately two-thirds compared to traditional furnaces under the same conditions, production capacity, and cycle time.
2. Traditional tunnel furnaces require a large volume of cooling air after the workpieces exit, which absorbs heat from the workpieces and is then discharged directly. In contrast, the Step-Type Box Furnace recycles the cooling air back to the preheating section, greatly reducing energy consumption compared to traditional furnaces.
3. Traditional tunnel furnaces operate with a continuous, slow-moving mesh belt. The Step-Type Box Furnace uses a tray step-feed method, effectively preventing part mixing.
4. The continuous mesh belt operation of traditional furnaces cannot accurately capture the exact time workpieces exit the furnace, whereas the step-feed method of the Step-Type Box Furnace allows precise collection of discharge time.
5. During product development, the design and manufacturing technologies achieved breakthroughs and significant innovations. Key technologies have been patented, and multiple proprietary technologies unique to the company have been established.

Innovations and Breakthroughs in Key Technologies, Functions, and Performance Indicators:

1. Main Technical Performance and Key Specifications:(1) Maximum sintering temperature: 360°C(2) Furnace temperature uniformity: ±5°C(3) Cooling effect: > ambient temperature by 5–10°C

   (4) Maximum load per tray: 200 kg

   (5) Maximum production capacity: 6000 kg/h

   (6) Transmission method: 2–4 minutes per tray, adjustable stepping

   (7) Natural gas consumption: 16–21 m³/h

   (8) Footprint: reduces floor space by approximately two-thirds compared to traditional furnaces

2. Technical Innovations and Breakthroughs:
   (1) The Step-Type Box Furnace uses a continuous step-feed conveying system for stacked trays, with automatic loading and unloading at one end, enabling better automation integration with other equipment.
   (2) Achieves prevention of material mixing and enables production quality traceability control.
   (3) The heat recovery technology saves 30% more energy compared to traditional tunnel furnaces and foreign box-type furnaces.
   (4) The unique structural design of the Step-Type Box Furnace reduces equipment footprint by approximately two-thirds compared to traditional tunnel furnaces.
   (5) Innovative design of a double-direction circulating heating system for the mesh belt sintering furnace. Using oppositely angled dual fans for circulating heating within the furnace chamber, the system employs an upward air supply and downward return air circulation to ensure uniform heating of workpieces on all sides. Temperature control accuracy is ±3°C. A heat source splitting and compensation method is used to meet coating process requirements. The entire sintering process is simple and effective, with thermal energy utilization reaching 75%, saving time and labor.

The application of Junhe equipment has significantly reduced the reliance on foreign core technologies for high-end coating equipment, greatly strengthening the foundational supporting capabilities of the surface treatment industry. The design, manufacturing, and independent integration capabilities of domestic automated coating production lines and their equipment have been enhanced, effectively promoting the development of China’s coating equipment manufacturing sector. At the same time, this advancement has driven the coating industry in our province and across the country toward higher-end industrial segments, playing an important role in improving the overall international competitiveness of China’s coating equipment manufacturing industry.