Can a vacuum annealing furnace have an atmosphere?

Vacuum annealing furnace is a specialized equipment for material heating treatment. Its working principle is mainly to heat the material at high temperature in a vacuum state to remove gases, reduce impurity content, and improve the purity and strength of the material. However, in some cases, for specific process requirements, a vacuum annealing furnace can also be heated by introducing a certain atmosphere.
Specifically, during the operation of a vacuum annealing furnace, the furnace will first be evacuated to a certain degree of vacuum to remove air and other impurities inside the furnace. Then, as needed, high-purity nitrogen, ammonia decomposition atmosphere, or other protective gases can be introduced for protective heating, thereby achieving the goal of less oxidation heating and no decarburization brightness. These protective gases can effectively prevent the material from reacting with oxygen in the air during heating, thereby maintaining the surface smoothness and internal structural stability of the material.
In addition, a vacuum atmosphere furnace (also known as an oxygen free annealing furnace, vacuum atmosphere sintering furnace, etc.) is a method of sintering objects in a furnace filled with a certain gas. This furnace can also be used for vacuum sintering, which is powder sintering carried out under conditions lower than atmospheric pressure. During the vacuum sintering process, nitrogen, argon, hydrogen and other atmospheres can also be introduced to improve the sintering environment and enhance the sintering quality.
In summary, both vacuum annealing furnaces and vacuum atmosphere furnaces can be heated or sintered by introducing a certain atmosphere as needed. The introduction of these atmospheres helps to meet specific process requirements and improve product quality and performance.