What is the difference between a box furnace and an atmosphere furnace?

There are significant differences between box type furnaces and atmosphere furnaces in multiple aspects. The following is a detailed analysis:

working principle:
Box furnace: a widely used stove, mainly used for heating and processing various materials. It usually does not emphasize the control of the atmosphere inside the furnace, but rather conducts heat treatment in an open or controllable but non-specific atmosphere environment.
Atmosphere furnace: a device for heat treatment in a controllable atmosphere environment. The atmosphere can be an inert gas (such as nitrogen or argon) or a reducing gas (such as carbon monoxide or hydrogen). The furnace body is usually a sealed container that can precisely control the atmosphere inside the furnace to avoid reactions such as oxidation and decarbonization.

Usage:
Box furnace: commonly used for processing and processing materials such as metal, glass, and ceramics. Due to its advantages such as fast heating speed, accurate temperature control, and long service life, box furnaces are widely used in the industrial field.
Atmosphere furnace: mainly used for processing heat treated workpieces that require high precision and quality, such as automotive parts, cutting tools, etc. Its good sealing performance and precise atmosphere control make it particularly suitable for handling sensitive materials that are prone to oxidation.

Structural features:
Box furnace: usually has a rectangular or square furnace, the furnace chamber and body are integrated, and there is no insulation layer on the outside of the furnace body. The structure of the box furnace makes it suitable for batch processing of larger or irregularly shaped samples.
Atmosphere furnace: The furnace body is usually a sealed container that can create a specific atmosphere environment. The sealing of the atmosphere furnace is good, which can accurately control the atmosphere inside the furnace and ensure the quality of the heat treatment process.

Control method:
Box furnace: The control method generally adopts conventional analog PID controller or touch screen control method, with average control accuracy. However, the temperature control and constant temperature accuracy of box furnaces are usually high, which can meet the needs of most industrial applications.
Atmosphere furnace: Due to the need for precise control of the atmosphere inside the furnace, more advanced digital PID controllers or more complex control systems are usually used. This makes the control accuracy of the atmosphere furnace higher and can meet stricter heat treatment requirements.

Safety performance:
Box furnace: Although it has good safety performance, attention should still be paid to avoiding risks such as high temperature burns and electric shock during operation.
Atmosphere furnace: Due to its higher requirements for sealing and atmosphere control, its safety performance is also more stringent. Atmosphere furnaces are usually equipped with explosion-proof devices and strict safety operating procedures to ensure the safety of operators.

In summary, there are significant differences between box type furnaces and atmosphere furnaces in terms of working principle, purpose, structural characteristics, control methods, and safety performance. When choosing which equipment to use, it is necessary to determine based on the characteristics of the processed material and heat treatment requirements.