As an alternative to the approximately ten-minute heating process in conventional gas-fired roller hearth furnaces, IFUM is conducting intensive research into the method of conductive heating. This approach not only offers considerable energy-saving potential but also enables rapid heating to the target temperature of about 950 °C within just a few seconds, thereby opening up opportunities to improve essential component properties such as strength and elongation at break. One challenge, however, is that established coatings designed to prevent scale formation are not suitable for such rapid heating. To address this, subproject A04 of the Collaborative Research Center (CRC) 1368 “Oxygen-Free Production” successfully developed a system for conductive heating under an XHV-adequate atmosphere, effectively suppressing scale formation during the heating process.
Building on this, subproject T02 of CRC 1368 is developing an automated process chain that includes the transfer of workpieces from the heating system into the hot forming tool using an industrial robot. The objective is to achieve the shortest possible transfer times in order to further minimize scale formation while ensuring stable process conditions. This is essential not only for investigating the influence of various process parameters on the final component properties, but also for the potential integration of conductive heating into industrial-scale production. For this purpose, a specialized gripper is being developed that meets the demanding requirements of the process in terms of temperature resistance, precision, and accessibility.
