In the high-end manufacturing fields such as aerospace, defense and military industry, and transportation, the performance stability of large-sized aluminum alloy materials directly determines the core competitiveness of the final products. For a long time, the aging heat treatment of aluminum alloy products has faced two major bottlenecks: "large-sized products are difficult to be treated in a single furnace" and "high-precision temperature control is difficult to ensure". Traditional aging furnaces are limited by the length of the furnace chamber, which not only results in low production efficiency but also leads to large errors in manual temperature control, resulting in poor material performance consistency, high energy consumption, and inability to meet the strict requirements of high-end material production.
As a core supplier of aluminum alloy materials in key national sectors, Yuefeng Aluminum Industry Co., Ltd. has been deeply engaged in the production of high-end aluminum alloy materials. Through the intelligent upgrading and transformation of equipment, it has specially designed a 22-meter ultra-long intelligent temperature-controlled aging furnace. Successfully breaking through the dual technical barriers of size and precision, it has achieved a simultaneous leap in production capacity and quality improvement, laying a solid foundation for the production of high-end aluminum alloy materials.
A 22-meter ultra-long design has enabled a significant leap in production output.
The increase in production volume is the most obvious technical advantage of the new time-temperature-controlled furnace. Its 22-meter ultra-long furnace chamber design has completely transformed the traditional production mode. Compared with the limitations of traditional time-temperature-controlled furnaces, which have "short furnace chambers and separate furnace production", the new time-temperature-controlled furnace achieves "whole furnace processing" with its 22-meter ultra-long furnace chamber. The single loading capacity has reached a new high, increasing by 333% compared to the original 8.5-meter time-temperature-controlled furnace, completely breaking free from the efficiency constraints of "separate furnace production".
"Previously, when processing high-value-added special pipes over 9 meters in length, due to the size limitations of the furnace chamber, the ends had to be cut off to a length of 8 meters before loading into the furnace. Each furnace could only accommodate 2 batches, resulting in long turnaround times, loss of product yield due to cutting the ends, and frequent batch performance variations." The head supervisor of the aging furnace at Yuefeng Aluminum Extrusion Factory explained, "Now, the 22-meter aging furnace has a furnace chamber size that perfectly matches the length of the products. Special pipe aging no longer requires cutting the ends or waiting. Each furnace can simultaneously load 10 batches of materials for aging, and the single-time aging processing efficiency has increased by 5 times compared to the original single equipment."
In addition to the breakthrough in single-load capacity, the 22-meter aging furnace has further enhanced efficiency through operational optimization. By relying on process optimization to achieve seamless operation, the product turnover time for each batch is shortened by 30 minutes. At the same time, operators combined with practical experience to design and manufacture dedicated aging material frames, reducing the loading time per furnace by 40 minutes. The monthly average aging processing throughput has exceeded 360 tons, with the overall production efficiency of the aging furnace group improving by 80% compared to the original.
±1℃ precise temperature control, strengthening the core defense line of quality
For high-end aluminum alloy materials, the temperature control accuracy during the aging heat treatment process directly determines the mechanical properties of the material. The 22-meter aging furnace of Yuefeng Aluminum Extrusion Factory has achieved precise temperature control through intelligent technological transformation, solving the problem of temperature uniformity in the extremely long furnace chamber. The equipment adopts a "multi-zone independent control + intelligent closed-loop system", with 10 independent heating zones in the furnace chamber. Each temperature control zone is equipped with 3 N-type dual-tipped thermocouples to monitor the furnace gas temperature in real time. Combined with the PID automatic pulse control system, it achieves a temperature control accuracy of ±1℃ and a furnace temperature uniformity of ±2℃, reaching the industry-leading level.
The intelligent system provides technical support for precise temperature control. The equipment is equipped with a PLC intelligent control system, integrating data traceability and automatic adjustment functions. After the operators set the process parameters through the control console, the system can automatically complete the entire process of temperature rise, heat preservation, and temperature drop, eliminating human operational errors. At the same time, a process parameter database is established to store specialized aging schemes for different fields such as aerospace and automotive manufacturing. These can be quickly called upon according to product requirements, ensuring the stability of material performance. Through performance testing, the aging heat treatment process of aluminum alloy products treated in a 22-meter aging furnace has a qualified rate of 100%, fully meeting the strict requirements of the high-end field for the consistency of material performance.
The integration of human skills and technology has facilitated the transformation and intelligent upgrade of the technology, not only enhancing the throughput and quality of aluminum material aging processes, but also enabling operators to achieve a significant leap from "physical laborers" to "technical experts". In traditional aging furnaces, at least three operators are required per shift to handle tasks such as loading the furnaces, monitoring temperatures, adjusting parameters, and manually recording data, which involves high labor intensity and is prone to errors. The intelligent closed-loop control of the new equipment has made the operation process highly automated, with only one operator needed to complete the entire process for a single piece of equipment.
"Previously, when operating the furnace, one had to be constantly on-site to prevent temperature fluctuations from affecting product quality; now, through the intelligent system, the temperature curves of 10 temperature zones can be monitored in real time. Any deviation from the set value will be automatically corrected and an alarm will be triggered." This was explained by the operator of the time-temperature furnace. The operators drew on their previous experience in time-temperature operation, studied the characteristics of the equipment, and summarized the optimal time-temperature curves for different specifications of products, reducing the time for the same specifications of products by 35%. By establishing a "teaching and mentoring" mechanism, the operation skills of intelligent equipment and the experience in handling abnormalities were passed on to new employees. Three key personnel have trained four qualified operators, forming a talent pipeline for skilled workers."
Energy-saving technological innovation to achieve cost reduction and efficiency improvement, achieving a win-win situation.
Under the backdrop of the "dual carbon" strategy, energy conservation and cost reduction have become the core demands for the transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing industry. The 22-meter aging furnace of Yuefeng Aluminum Extrusion Factory has deeply integrated energy-saving technologies to achieve a reduction in both energy consumption and production costs. The furnace walls, bottom, and top all adopt a "double-layer steel plate + anchor bolts to fix insulation material" structure, and high-efficiency rock wool board is selected as the insulation material, with the insulation layer thickness reaching 300mm. At a furnace temperature of 300℃, the outer shell temperature of the furnace does not exceed the ambient temperature by 15℃. Combined with the intelligent temperature control system, excessive heating is avoided, and the overall energy consumption is reduced by approximately 25% compared to traditional equipment, saving approximately 4 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, equivalent to a cost savings of over 180,000 yuan.
The 22-meter aluminum aging furnace of Yuefeng Aluminum Extrusion Factory has achieved a double leap in both output and quality. This is an important achievement of the factory's deep technical transformation and promotion of industrial upgrading. From the breakthrough of leapfrog improvement in output to the green transformation of energy saving and cost reduction, and to the quality guarantee of intelligent and precise temperature control, the new equipment has firmly established the core foundation for the production of high-end materials with multiple technical advantages.
