What Is A Crucible Furnace?

　　

What Is A Crucible Furnace?

 Crucible furnaces are one of the oldest and simplest types of melting furnace unit used in the foundry. The furnaces uses a refractory crucible which contains the metal charge. The charge is heated via conduction of heat through the walls of the crucible. The heating fuel is typically coke, oil, gas or electricity. Crucible melting is commonly used where small batches of low melting point alloy are required. The capital outlay of these furnaces makes them attractive to small non-ferrous foundries. A crucible furnace is a simple and very old type of melting unit commonly used in foundry. The crucible furnace typically uses a refectory crucible with contains a metal charge. The actual crucible is a container that can withstand very high temperatures and is therefore used to melt materials such as metals. The charge is heated using conduction through the walls of the crucible, it’s usually fueled by either coke, oil, gas or electricity.
What It’s Commonly Used For
It’s simple, any small batches of low melting point alloys. I would imagine that with the soaring price of Gold, this would be a perfect material to use. The small furnace is perfect for hobbyists, small businesses and vocational colleges and schools.
Types Of Furnace
Interestingly, how we commonly classify a furnace is by the method used for removal of the metal from the crucible. Tilting – you would mechanically tilt the crucible to the mould Lift Out – lifting it out then pouring it into the mould Bale Out – ladled the metal out to the mould.