Thermal Processing and Heat Treat FAQs

Surface has been leading the industry as a heat treat furnace manufacturer and we pride ourselves in providing solutions with our expertise and experience. We answer some of the most frequently asked questions regarding heat treating and our thermal processing furnaces.

 

Why should I buy from Surface®? 

The short answer is because our furnaces just work. Since 1915, we have been engineering and building rugged, reliable furnace systems that do what we say they will do. If you don’t believe us, we’d be happy to introduce you to one of the many commercial and captive heat treaters around the country who have built their businesses on Surface equipment, and they can tell you. Over 250,000 installs world-wide can’t be wrong. Oh, and just so you know, our customers may initially come for the quality of our furnaces, but they stick around for the first-class aftermarket support. We aren’t just a leading heat treat furnace manufacturer, we build life-long relationships.

 

What furnace should I use for my application?

We have furnaces that solve many types of thermal processing needs. To narrow down your selection, please use our furnace selection guide.

 

What can you process in an Allcase®? 

The better question is what can’t you process in an Allcase? In all seriousness, the Allcase BIQ  debuted in 1949 as the most versatile atmosphere furnace system on the market. Almost seventy years later, it is still the industry standard for annealing, carbonitriding, carburizing, ferritic nitrocarburizing (FNC), hardening, normalizing, solution treatments, and stress relieving. Continued advances in process control, sensors, energy efficiency, and automation help the Allcase remain the most respected furnace in the industry.

 

Do I really need an RX® Endothermic Gas Generator from Surface?

If you’re atmosphere heat treating then, yes, yes you do. Not only did we originally develop this technology, but we continue to make the most reliable endothermic atmosphere generators in the industry. RX generators produce efficient, low cost gas that can be customized with our patented air/gas mixer. We’re also the only one in the industry who offers the true flexibility of 6:1 turndown to meet your individual process needs from day to day or even hour to hour.

 

Does Surface offer vacuum equipment?

Of course we do! For over 50 years, Surface has been g rugged, reliable vacuum furnace manufacturer equipment. This expanding product line includes the Power Convection Single Chamber Vacuum Furnace with 2- and 6-Bar quenching capability and the Multi-Chamber Furnace family including 2-Chamber, 3-Chamber, and Cloverleaf™ configurations. The VacuDraw® High Convection Vacuum Purged Temper Furnace completes the product line offering. If you’ve heard we only do atmosphere, it just isn’t true.

 

What if I don’t know exactly what type of furnace system best meets my needs?

We can help with that. At Surface, our people are perhaps our most valued resource. Our sales engineers set the process in motion by listening to your product, process, and work type needs. They determine whether one of our standard products is the right furnace for you or if a custom engineered product better fits your application. Both our Standard and Engineered Products units are well-versed in finding the right solution for you.

 

Where can find I troubleshooting support for my furnace?

All you need to do is pick up the phone and give us a call at 800.537.8980. Our customer service engineers collectively have over one hundred years of experience working on Surface equipment. If they are unable to solve the issue remotely, we can dispatch a manufacturing engineer to your site. Our goal is to get you back up and running as quickly as possible. Surface Combustion’s service support is backed by one of the largest replacement parts inventories in the industry, and critical parts and manufactured components can often be shipped within 24 hours. Call today, and we’ll show you the Value of Surface.

 

Where can I find replacement parts for my Surface furnace system?

Besides selling rugged, reliable equipment, Surface also has the largest on-hand spare parts inventory in the industry. Our parts specialists have real-time access to thousands of items, most of which can be shipped within 24 hours. Not only do we have the parts you need, because you’re buying OEM, they are guaranteed to fit your Surface equipment. Our specialists use historical documentation to find the right part the first time to get you back up and running as soon as possible. Give us a call at 800.322.PART(7278) and let us show you the Value of Surface.

 

Can I convert to electric heating from gas for my Radiant Tube Furnace?

Yes! We have a simple process to convert your gas heating element to one that uses electricity.

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