What is the difference between a tube furnace and a muffle furnace?

There are significant differences between tube furnaces and muffle furnaces in multiple aspects. The following is a detailed explanation of these differences:

1、 Structure and Design
Tube furnace:
The furnace structure is simple, and the furnace tubes are usually tubular structures. Materials such as heat-resistant steel, quartz glass, and ceramic tubes can be selected for configuration.
There are various types available, including single tube, double tube, horizontal, openable, vertical, single temperature zone, double temperature zone, and triple temperature zone.
The furnace shell structure is usually a double-layer furnace shell air-cooled structure, which helps to reduce the external temperature.
Ma Fulu:
Essentially, it is a box furnace, with a structure mainly composed of metal chambers and an internal coating composed of refractory materials.
The high-temperature muffle furnace adopts a three-layer structure design to ensure long service life and low skin temperature.
The chamber size can be adjusted according to different applications to meet various heating needs.

2、 Working principle and function
Tube furnace:
Mainly through heating elements inside the tube, heat is generated and transferred to the heated object.
Suitable for heating slender objects such as pipes, wires, cables, etc.
It can achieve various process gas control and vacuum environment.
Ma Fulu:
Using heating elements (such as silicon carbide heating rods, molybdenum disilicate U-shaped rods, etc.) to generate high temperatures and transfer heat to the heated object through the furnace.
Suitable for heating objects of various shapes, such as block, plate, ball, etc.
The workpiece in the muffle furnace can be fully fused with air to ensure sufficient calcination.

3、 Technical parameters and heating capacity
Tube furnace:
Suitable pipe diameter and heating zone length need to be provided to determine its heating capacity.
The production volume is relatively small because the furnace diameter is fixed.
The working temperature range is usually between RT and 1000 ℃.
Ma Fulu:
Provide the size of the furnace and the commonly used temperature range to determine its heating capacity.
The furnace size can be adjusted, so the amount of testing or production needs to be larger.
The temperature range usually covers room temperature to 1800 ° C, depending on the model.

4、 Application field
Tube furnace:
Mainly used in industries such as metallurgy, glass, heat treatment, lithium-ion positive and negative electrode materials, new energy, and grinding tools.
Suitable for experimentation and small batch production.

Ma Fulu:
In addition to laboratory applications such as calcination and heat treatment, it is also widely used in industrial fields.
Suitable for processes that require higher temperatures, such as ceramics, glass, metal processing, etc.

In summary, there are significant differences between tube furnaces and muffle furnaces in terms of structure, working principles, technical parameters, heating capacity, and application fields. The choice of equipment depends on specific heating requirements, process requirements, and budget.