In industries such as aerospace, automotive, medical technology, and metallurgy, precise temperature control and documentation are indispensable during heat treatment 
processes.
The TUS (Temperature Uniformity Survey) test in accordance with AMS2750E and CQI-9 standards must often be fulfilled as part of the relevant quality standards. This is the only way to ensure that the parts achieve the desired material properties within narrow tolerances with homogeneous temperature distribution.
Furnace trackers – specialized temperature measurement fixtures – are essential for determining temperature uniformity and ensuring consistent process conditions within heat treatment furnaces. Due to their exposure to extreme temperatures (often exceeding 1,200 °C) and harsh environments, these fixtures must meet stringent requirements for material, design, and handling.
Discover the smart, precise, and efficient solution our #GraphitePeople developed for employing a furnace tracker in various systems with changing volumes in this case study.
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A company specializing in thermal process technologies handles components of varying sizes and serves a range of industries. They employ diverse heat treatment processes across furnaces of different sizes, depending on the workpiece being processed.
To achieve a uniform and homogeneous temperature distribution within the furnace, a furnace tracker tailored to the specific furnace size has been used.
Industry:
Procedure:
Thermal process engineering
Solution:
Services:
Consulting, design/engineering, technical documentation
Result:
Improved process stability, quality, reliability, simplified handling, cost reduction as well as 6-in-1 modular design
is often one of the last process steps in the value chain. The uniform temperature distribution in the furnace chamber is a critical prerequisite for quality and must be known for the heat treatment recipe. It is therefore a factor that is decisive for quality and the reject rate.
design could be adapted to different usable volumes. Our client, a provider of heat treatment services for a variety of industries, has a broad service portfolio and high-quality standards.
Previously, they relied on furnace trackers made of metal in various sizes. However, these trackers posed challenges: the metal deformed at high temperatures, making measurement positions inconsistent and unreliable. This resulted in an overall unsatisfactory measurement result: the metal warped at high temperatures and the measuring points were therefore not reproducible.
guarantee the necessary dimensional stability of the tracker to ensure the reproducibility of the measuring points from the first to the 100th oven run.
Moreover, the high specific strength allows a lightweight and slender rod design, achieving a weight reduction of approximately 80 %. This significantly eases handling. This modular furnace tracker allows for easy assembly and can be quickly adapted to six different system sizes (chamber volumes).
The material rigidity ensures a reproducible measurement position, resulting in consistent temperature readings.
The modular design of the frame saves an additional five measurement stands.
