One-Click Start, Unattended Operation: The Ultimate Form of Automated Operation of Graphitization Furnaces

Old Zhang has worked in graphitization for fifteen years and always says that in the early days he feared night shifts the most—especially the 2 AM shift. When everyone was exhausted, a single wrong number in the heating curve or a missing zero in the holding time could cause problems with the entire batch of materials. Back then, there was no automation; it all depended on the experience and sense of responsibility of the veteran workers.

Things have improved in recent years. Our graphitization furnaces can now be loaded, the door closed, a formula selected on the touchscreen, and a start button pressed; the rest is basically unattended.

One-click start of the entire process

1. Automatic leak detection: The system checks the furnace body's sealing performance, only continuing after confirming there are no leaks—safety first line of defense
2. Furnace cleaning and replacement: Automatic vacuuming → charging with protective gas, repeated multiple times to thoroughly remove residual air
3. Automatic heating: Strictly follows the formula temperature curve for heating; the timing of rapid and slow heating is entirely controlled by the program. i>
4. Heating and Timing: Automatically starts heating and timing upon reaching the target temperature; automatically proceeds to the next stage after the time is up.
5. Automatic Cooling: Cools at a set rate; if a rapid cooling system is configured, it automatically starts at a safe temperature.
6. Bake Notification: Automatically issues an audible and visual notification when the temperature drops to a safe value, notifying the operator to remove the furnace.

The entire process is seamless; the operator only needs to press a button at the beginning and remove the furnace at the end.

Closed-Loop Control Ensures Precise Execution

The PLC is the ""brain,"" with sensors providing real-time feedback on temperature, pressure, flow rate, and water cooling status. Actuators (electric valves, frequency converters, power regulators) precisely execute each instruction. The closed-loop control of sensor→PLC→actuator ensures strict replication of the process curve for each furnace, with batch consistency far exceeding that of manual operation.

Core Value: After one-click start, it can run unattended overnight or even on weekends. Just send someone in the morning to check the reports and check the batch. For companies with tight production capacity, the same equipment and personnel configuration can significantly increase output.