PHI Electric Furnace ELEPOT
A compact electric furnace from Hata Denki of Japan. ELEPOT is light enough to move between benches, using ceramic fibre insulation and an air gap in the wall to keep the weight down.
Hata Electric Manufacturing has built heat treatment and drying equipment in Japan since 1950. ELEPOT is their compact furnace, designed to be moved rather than installed. Prolific distributes the range, from the small bench furnace up to fully customised sizes. See Hata Denki for the manufacturer's own detail.
Weight is kept down by using ceramic fibre for the insulation and leaving an air layer between the furnace and the outer wall. The chamber is cylindrical, which heats evenly and keeps loading simple. Overheat protection is built in on every model except the LU. Typical work is quenching, tempering and annealing of steel, melting and sintering of metal, heating for shrink fitting, and solution, stress relief and ageing treatments.
The options cover most of the awkward cases, and the page tabs below carry the two companion products Hata supplies alongside it, the Seal Peel melting tank and the ELEPAK foil system.
Heat treatment without a fixed installation. ELEPOT handles quenching, tempering, annealing, melting and sintering from a cylindrical chamber you can carry to the work.
- Portable, with ceramic fibre insulation and an insulating air layer
- Cylindrical chamber for even heat-up and simple loading
- Built-in overheat protection on all models except LU
- Nitrogen atmosphere option with inner cover
- Heater units stack for double or triple chamber height
- Bottom reinforcement to 30 kg or 50 kg on the LH model
- Nine-step program temperature controller
- Safety timer switches the heater off after the hold period
- Supply voltage configured to local requirement
Most ELEPOT installations need at least one of these. All are factory options rather than retrofits.
- Upper lid hole for releasing gas or smoke, used together with the in-furnace protection case.
- In-furnace protection case, a cylindrical stainless cover that shields the heater ceramic from smoke, scale and metal spills during melting.
- Double-decker stacking. Heater units connect to double the internal height for long parts, and a three-level configuration can be built.
- Melting pot and pedestal set, sized to the furnace, for melting work.
- Nitrogen atmosphere piping and flow meter. Filling the chamber with nitrogen displaces oxygen and reduces the oxidation and decarburisation that cause insufficient hardness.
- Inner cover, used with the nitrogen option to double-seal the chamber. The top lid still opens, so work can be removed without lifting the cover out.
- Bottom reinforcement raising the processing weight to 30 kg or 50 kg. LH model only.
- Processing by hanging, a heat-resistant bar across the frame for work that cannot sit on the floor of the chamber, or that would distort if it did.
- Program temperature controller allowing a one pattern, nine step profile instead of a single setpoint. Cooling is natural.
- Safety timer. Standard machines sound a buzzer at the end of the hold and keep the heater on. With the timer the heater switches off instead, which also covers being left on overnight.
- Change of supply voltage to suit local requirements.
Model specifications
Voltage in the power requirement is adjusted to the customer's supply.
Seal peel is a plastic mixed with oils and fats. It is solid at room temperature, melts when heated, and returns to solid as it cools. Dipping a part coats it in a film that keeps out rust and damage, and the whole part or just a section can be covered.
It is mostly used in tooling, where the coating extends the life of tools between jobs.
What it is used for
- Rust prevention
- Protection from scratches and impacts
- Parts storage
- Insulation
- Moisture proofing
- Packing for shipping
Advantages
Reusable. The peeled film can be melted and used again.
Hard to break. It protects against rust, corrosion, dust, moisture, oxidation, sulphur fume, abrasion, impact, sea breeze and salt water. The film has elasticity, so rough handling does not split it, and it resists voltage.
Easy to remove. The coating is transparent, so stored parts can be inspected without unwrapping, and it peels off like a banana skin.
Cheaper to run. It takes less labour and time than conventional packaging, and cuts the space and weight involved in transport.
Model specifications
Other dimensions are available on request.
ELEPAK is stainless steel foil, processed into a bag, for avoiding oxidation and decarburisation after heat treatment. Seal the work inside and heat and cool it in the bag, and the surface comes out bright.
Oxygen is removed one of two ways. The vacuum method deflates the air out of the bag. The reducing agent method uses a chemical reaction to consume it. Either way you get close to non-oxidising, non-decarburising heat treatment without owning a vacuum or atmosphere furnace.
What it is used for
- Non-decarburising heat treatment of steel
- Vacuum heat treatment of steel, with no vacuum furnace
- Brightening copper alloy, aluminium alloy and other non-ferrous metals
- Silver, brass and copper brazing
- Any work that has to avoid oxidation or combustion when heated in air
Features
The foil is specially processed into a bag shape. Because it is heated and cooled sealed, bright heat treatment is possible, and preventing oxidation and decarburisation removes the surface roughness and insufficient hardness that would otherwise need working out in finishing. Results vary with processing conditions.
Sets and specifications
Reducing agent system, one bag per set:
Vacuum system, ten bags per set:
Rolled stainless steel foil is also sold separately, 300 mm wide by 10 m by 0.06 mm thick. The vacuum method needs a pump, 100 V 10 W, supplied with hose and clay.
