In the field of metal heat treatment process, quenching is one of the important processes to improve material properties. With the increasingly stringent environmental protection regulations and the high attention to production safety, air quenching machine has gradually become a new technology to replace traditional oil quenching. Although oil quenching has a long history of application in many metal material processing, air quenching machine has gradually shown a broader application prospect with its unique advantages. This article will make a detailed comparison between air quenching machine and traditional oil quenching, and explore their respective advantages and applicable scenarios. First of all, the working principle of oil quenching is to immerse the metal workpiece heated to the austenite zone in oil, and quickly cool it through the cooling effect of the oil to obtain the required hardness and strength. Oil quenching is suitable for most steels, especially high-alloy steels. However, sparks, oil smoke and gas may be generated during oil quenching, the operating environment is not very safe, and due to the high temperature characteristics of oil, it is easy to cause fire. In addition, the oil will deteriorate with the increase of use time, and needs to be replaced regularly, which increases the maintenance cost.

In contrast, air quenching machines use high-pressure air flow or spray to cool metal workpieces. The cooling medium of air quenching is air, which has a relatively slow cooling rate and is suitable for materials or processes that require a lower cooling rate. Unlike oil quenching, air quenching does not produce hazardous substances such as oil smoke and sparks, and the operation is safer and more environmentally friendly. In addition, air quenching does not require frequent replacement of the cooling medium, and the maintenance cost is relatively low.

The advantage of air quenching machines lies in their significant environmental protection and safety. Since flammable oil is not used, air quenching greatly reduces the risk of fire, especially in high temperature and high pressure environments, the safety of operators is effectively guaranteed. Secondly, the cooling medium of air quenching machines is air, which has less pollutant emissions and will not burden the environment, which meets the environmental protection requirements of modern manufacturing industries.

In terms of operating costs, air quenching machines have more advantages than traditional oil quenching. Although air quenching has a slower cooling rate and may take longer to complete the quenching process, since it does not require the replacement of coolant and frequent equipment cleaning, the overall cost of air quenching is lower in the long run. Oil quenching requires regular replacement of oil and cleaning of equipment such as oil pools and filters, which has high maintenance costs.

However, air quenching machines also have their limitations. Due to the slow cooling speed, it is mainly suitable for processes with low cooling speed requirements, such as the treatment of certain low-carbon steels or alloy steels. For high-hardness steels that require rapid cooling, oil quenching is still a more suitable choice.

Air quenching machines and traditional oil quenching machine each have their own unique advantages and scope of application. In modern manufacturing, air quenching machines have become an important consideration for many companies when choosing quenching processes due to their environmental protection, safety and low cost. Although oil quenching is still irreplaceable in the treatment of some high-hardness materials, air quenching undoubtedly represents the development direction of future heat treatment technology, especially in the context of pursuing sustainable development and production safety, its advantages are becoming more and more obvious.

As an important wear material in the industrial field, grinding media balls are widely used in mining, steel, power and other industries. In a long-term wear and impact environment, the performance of grinding media balls directly affects production efficiency and the service life of equipment. In order to improve the hardness, wear resistance and impact resistance of grinding media balls, heat treatment technology plays a key role. This article will explore the application of heat treatment machines in wear-resistant ball processing and analyze its role in improving ball performance and production efficiency.

1.Hardening treatment of grinding media balls

Grinding media balls are usually made of high-hardness materials such as chromium alloys and molybdenum alloys. These materials have low hardness and wear resistance when they are not heat treated. Appropriate heat treatment by heat treatment machines can significantly improve the surface hardness of grinding media balls, making them more durable in high-impact and high-wear environments.

The most common heat treatment processes are quenching and tempering. The grinding media balls are first heated to the austenitizing temperature range (usually 800°C to 1000°C) by a heat treatment machine, and then rapidly quenched and cooled. This process forms a high-hardness martensitic structure on the surface of the grinding media balls. Afterwards, the grinding media balls are tempered to reduce internal stress and brittleness and improve toughness and crack resistance. Through this combined quenching and tempering process, the hardness of the grinding media balls can reach 58-65 HRC, greatly improving their wear resistance.

2.Surface strengthening treatment

For grinding media balls, surface hardness is far more important than its internal hardness, because the surface of the ball is the part that rubs against other objects. The application of heat treatment machines in surface strengthening treatments, such as surface carburizing and nitriding, can significantly improve the surface hardness and corrosion resistance of grinding media balls.

Carburizing treatment heats the grinding media balls to a carbon-containing atmosphere to form carbides on the surface, thereby increasing the surface hardness. Nitriding treatment is to penetrate nitrogen into the surface of the grinding media balls at high temperature to form a nitride layer, further improving the hardness and corrosion resistance of the grinding media balls while maintaining internal toughness. By precisely controlling the carburizing or nitriding process through a heat treatment machine, the uniformity of the surface hardness of the grinding media balls can be achieved, ensuring that they maintain high performance during long-term wear.

3.Uniformity control and precise heating

The quality and performance of grinding media balls are closely related to the uniformity of their heat treatment process. During the heat treatment process, temperature uniformity is crucial to the hardness, toughness and wear resistance of grinding media balls. The precise temperature control system of the heat treatment machine can ensure the temperature stability of the grinding media balls during heating, insulation and cooling, so that the surface and internal properties of each wear-resistant ball are balanced.

Through a reasonable heat treatment process, the heat treatment machine can ensure that the temperature distribution of the grinding media balls in each process link is uniform, thereby avoiding problems such as uneven organization and inconsistent hardness caused by excessively high or low local temperatures.

4.Improve production efficiency

Modern heat treatment machines are usually equipped with advanced automatic control systems, which can realize batch processing and improve production efficiency and consistency. For large-scale production of grinding media balls, the efficient operation of the heat treatment machine can not only ensure the stability of product quality, but also shorten processing time and reduce production costs.

With the development of technology, the automation and precision of heat treatment machines have been continuously improved, providing a more efficient and stable solution for the mass production of grinding media balls, and promoting technological progress and production efficiency in related industries. We are dedicated to providing quality grinding media die for customers.

Continuous tempering furnace is to heat treating the ferrous metal product, so as the casting grinding media balls. Casting grinding media balls are now widely used in cement, mines, thermal power station, and construction works. But the qualified grinding balls, especially for high chrome grinding balls, need to do the not only the quenching but […]