The furnace "UDM-N" is designed for melting in a vacuum or inert gas environment of high-alloy steels and heat-resistant nickel-based alloys and pouring ceramic molds using investment models, with the introduction of modifiers and ligatures into the melt stream.

Vacuum melting and pouring furnace "UDM-N" for melting high-alloy steels and heat-resistant nickel-based alloys

The design of the "UDM-N" includes several functional units:
- Melting chamber with a melting unit;
- Sluice chamber;
- Slide valve, providing loading and unloading of poured molds without depressurizing the melting chamber;
- Loading device, providing loading of the charge into the crucible without depressurizing the melting chamber;
- Device for introducing modifiers and ligatures into the melt stream being drained in the intermediate funnel area;
- Vacuum system;
- Inert gas supply system;
- Automated process control system;
- Furnace structural elements cooling system.

The melting chamber is equipped with input mechanisms, a lock chamber, flanges, valves, water-cooled vacuum units.
The UDM-N melting furnace is equipped with a replaceable crucible with a rammed lining with a capacity of 120 kg for steel. The energy part of the furnace ensures the melting of metal in a specified time interval.
Pouring of molds is carried out in the melting chamber from the crucible through an intermediate pouring funnel installed in a special device, which is an element of the furnace structure.
The maximum inclination of the furnace ensures complete draining of metal from the crucible. The furnace tilt speed is controlled from the caster's remote control panel and provides the required pressure of the metal stream poured into the mold.
The mold loading lock chamber has a heating system that maintains the required temperature.
A table with a driven roller table, located outside the furnace, is provided in the lock chamber for loading the platform with hot molds.
The unit includes:
- optical pyrometer,
- thermocouple,
- device for settling the charge in case of its freezing during the melting process, a mechanism for taking samples for chemical analysis, a device for introducing consumable modifiers and ligatures into the melt stream.
Two viewing windows and a caster's control panel are installed on the chamber body.
The unit is provided with a system for feeding inert argon gas into the melting chamber.
The unit has a device for introducing a modifying element under the melt stream. The modifying element is a tube made of nickel sheet filled with a mixture of ultrafine nickel powder and nanodispersed zirconium oxide as an active component.

The control system of the installation, implemented on the basis of an industrial computer and a programmable logic controller, ensures automatic operation.
The measuring equipment of the control system ensures monitoring of the temperature of the cooling water, molten metal, residual pressure in the melting and lock chambers; electrical parameters; current time; tilt speed and angle of rotation of the crucible from the vertical position towards the metal drain; leakage into the furnace volume on a cold crucible, consumption of modifier and ligatures fed under the metal stream during its pouring.
The main parameters of the melting and pouring process are displayed on the monitor of the industrial computer with data archiving:
- temperature of the poured metal;
- residual pressure in the chamber during melting and pouring, as well as in the lock chamber;
- pressure of the injected inert gas;
- current time;
- melt start and end time;
- crucible tilt speed during pouring;
- crucible tilt angle;
- inflow into the furnace volume on a cold crucible;
- furnace operation energy parameters;
- modifier and ligature consumption.

Vacuum melting and pouring unit "UDM-N" for smelting high-alloy steels and heat-resistant nickel-based alloys

The melting unit control system provides light and sound alarms in case of unit malfunctions, such as:
- discrepancy between the vacuum value in the melting chamber and the lock chamber and the specified value;
- failure in the cooling system;
- violation of the permissible temperature range in the melting chamber.
The control system software provides visualization of the process system elements; indication of numerical values of process parameters, viewing, archiving data, logging events, errors and emergency situations.