Between two poles. What to choose - a muffle furnace of Russian or foreign production?

The muffle is a chamber located inside the furnace. It is isolated from the heating element.

The products placed in it are subjected to high temperature treatment: up to several thousand degrees Celsius.

They are achieved by means of electric or gas heating in an air, gas or vacuum environment created in the chamber.

Processing is in progress both on an industrial scale and on an individual one. Sculptors process their ceramic products in muffle furnaces. Jewelers use devices for melting precious metals, dentists - for making dentures, researchers - for scientific experiments.

Review of muffle furnace manufacturers

Both domestic and foreign manufacturers can manufacture a muffle furnace. to order taking into account the parameters that are necessary for a specific buyer. But when choosing a ready-made device, you should take into account their features.

Foreign

The most famous among foreign furnace manufacturers companies:

• Nabertherm (Germany).
• Ugin'Dentaire (France).
• CarboliteGero (England - Germany).
• ThermoFisherScientific (USA).
• SNOL (Lithuania).

Nabertherm produces systems for industrial, medical, scientific and applied fields.

Stoves have gained great popularity Rohde brands, which are used by ceramic sculptors to process their works of art.

Designs with vertical loading and maximum temperature are in demand up to 1320 °C and power 3 kW. The peculiarity of the devices is the combination of compact size, ease of use and long service life.

In France the company Ugin'Dentaire makes furnaces that have gained recognition in orthopedic dentistry. A durable muffle, a large set of programmable functions and high efficiency make Programix line indispensable in dental prosthetics.

Anglo-German enterprise CarboliteGero focused its activities on industrial and laboratory models. Their specialty is the use of vacuum and modified atmosphere, which gives high results. It is no coincidence that the furnaces HTK lines are used to produce products in the aerospace, automotive and steel industries.

ThermoFisherScientific from the United States and SNOL from Lithuania are actively involved in the development of laboratory muffle furnaces. American Thermolyne line is known for its systems for gravimetric analysis, ashing of organic and inorganic samples, sintering, quantitative analysis and heat treatment. The peculiarity of the latter Thermoline models - reduced energy consumption and increased heating temperature.

Photo 1. Muffle furnace from the manufacturer SNOL. Equipped with an electronic control system.

The Lithuanian brand also strives for these indicators SNOL. It is quite popular in the CIS market and in Russia. The company offers ovens designed for low and high temperatures. The maximum temperature threshold of Lithuanian models is 1300 °C. Their features include integrated overheating protection, a digital timer and recording of readings at different stages of the technological process.

Devices made in Russia

To famous Russian developers muffle furnaces include:

• "Agni" (Vsevolozhsk);
• "Smolensk SKTB-SPU";
• "MIUS" (Tula);
• "Averon" (Ekaterinburg);
• "Thermal" (Trekhgorny).

Company "Agni" from the Leningrad region has established itself well in the market.

Her ovens series "Hobby", "Master", "Pro", "Practitioner" and "Expert" are popular with both individuals - ceramists, jewelers - and businesses.

The peculiarity of the devices, which go under the brand of the same name, is the ability to work with high temperatures, reaching 1800 °CThe range of applications for vertical and horizontal loading devices includes ceramic firing, heat treatment of metals, glass processing, and laboratory work.

Direct competitor of Agni - "Smolensk SKTB-SPU". The company produces "EKPS" models, which are similar in their characteristics to SNOL furnaces, although they are much cheaper. This is the main feature of the Smolensk equipment, which Suitable for a wide range of tasks: from laboratory analysis to jewelry production.

"MIMP" — this is the name of small-sized muffle furnaces from Tula. They differ from other domestic models by their ergonomic design. The range of application of the devices includes metallurgy, jewelry production, ceramics, dentistry, chemical and food laboratory tests.

Yekaterinburg company "Averon" specializes in dental equipment. The furnaces produced by "EMP" are well suited for orthopedic dentistry. The heating speed reaches 30 °C per minute. Maximum temperature threshold — 1050 °CFor . 20 minutes the muffle is heated from room temperature to 700—900 °C.

Photo 2. Muffle furnace from the manufacturer "Averon". An electronic control panel is installed in the lower part of the device.

Distinctive feature of the company "Thermala" from the Chelyabinsk region — production of medium-sized and large-sized furnaces for fusing and bending glass with a capacity of 3 kW and 15 kW.

In the line "KEP", the company produces compact muffle furnaces for general purposes. The size of the working chamber of different models varies from 295x230x150 mm V "KEP-10" And up to 410x300x250 mm V "KEP-30"If necessary, the company is ready to complete the devices with the necessary options and increase the temperature threshold. from 1250 to 1300 °C.

Useful video

Check out the review of the popular SNOL-7.2/1100 muffle furnace model, which is equipped with a thermostat.

Which device should you choose: foreign or Russian-made?

If the device is needed for work with ceramics, then preference can be given, for example, to a foreign brand Rohde or a domestic brand "Agni"If we are talking about industrial production, then you can think about choosing between models of units HTK and "EKPS".

It is important to determine the dimensions furnaces: both the muffle separately and the structure as a whole. If the device is expected to be used privately, then it is necessary that it be as compact as possible. The type of loading matters: vertical (from above) or horizontal (from the side). Horizontal ovens are heavier and have a smaller internal volume than vertical units.

When choosing a device, you need to pay attention to level of work with materials. If this educational a furnace for processing ceramics, it is enough to purchase equipment with a chamber 20x20x20 and temperature threshold 1100 °C.

If the device acquires professional jeweler, then he must have software control.

It will not be superfluous for dental equipment, in which large muffles are also not needed and it is enough 1150 °C at maximum heating.

For laboratory research It is recommended to take a unit that has a temperature reserve that significantly exceeds 1100 °CThe ability to work with high heat is important. for industrial systems, where the upper limit of thermal characteristics can reach 3000 °C.