Vacuum Horizontal Continuous Casting Machine: Casting Oxidation-Sensitive Alloys Without Air Contact
A vacuum horizontal continuous casting machine encloses the melting furnace and the crystallizer in a vacuum chamber, so oxidation-sensitive metals melt, flow, and solidify without contact with air. The cast strand exits the chamber through a sealed withdrawal train and is cut to length or coiled. Luoyang Wanfeng Industrial Furnace Co., Ltd. (Wanfeng Furnace) builds the machine on its standard horizontal casting platform, with the vacuum system configured per alloy and product, and has supplied casting equipment since 1990.
When you need vacuum casting instead of open-air casting
Standard horizontal continuous casting suits copper and aluminum grades that tolerate brief air contact in the launder and mold. Vacuum casting is the route when the alloy or the specification does not:
- Alloys whose active elements burn off in air — vacuum protects the melt chemistry from surface loss
- Products with strict oxygen or inclusion limits — melting, transfer, and solidification all happen inside the chamber
- High-purity and specialty copper products — where the customer tests for oxygen content or surface quality that open-air casting cannot hold
If your current open-air line is losing orders on oxygen content or surface defects, vacuum casting is the specification-level answer.
What the line consists of
The machine is a complete line, not a single unit:
- Vacuum melting and casting furnace — medium-frequency induction furnace with the crystallizer assembly mounted inside the vacuum chamber
- Vacuum pumping system — sized to the chamber volume and the required vacuum level; configuration is customized
- Withdrawal machine — pulls the solidified strand through the sealed exit at the casting rhythm
- Cut-to-length saw or coiler — by product size and hardness
Vacuum level and pumping configuration depend on your alloy and product specification — they are confirmed during engineering, not quoted as a fixed number, because the required level differs between a specialty copper rod and an active-element alloy.
Key specifications
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Furnace body capacity | 100 kg–6 t, rated by copper density |
| Medium-frequency power | 80–2000 kW, sized by furnace capacity |
| Melting rate | 1 t/h |
| Temperature control accuracy | ±1 °C |
| Vacuum level | Customized by alloy and product specification |
| Pumping system | Customized by chamber volume and required vacuum |
| Cooling water circulation | ≥30 t/h |
| Plant requirements | Ceiling height ≥6 m; footprint >3 m × 6 m |
Strand count, section size, and downstream handling are customized to the target product. The casting platform is shared with Wanfeng’s open-air horizontal lines, so section range and withdrawal behavior carry over.
Who it suits
The machine suits processors moving up-market: plants whose customers have begun specifying oxygen limits, inclusion limits, or surface quality that an open-air line cannot reliably meet, and plants developing specialty alloys whose melt chemistry must be protected.
Wanfeng Furnace holds CE certification and independent import/export rights, with equipment delivered to Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, and South Asia.
FAQ
What is a vacuum horizontal continuous casting machine used for?
It casts oxidation-sensitive metals and alloys — products with strict oxygen or inclusion limits, alloys whose active elements burn off in air, and high-purity specialty copper — by enclosing melting and solidification inside a vacuum chamber.
How is it different from a standard horizontal casting line?
The furnace, crystallizer, and melt transfer are sealed in a vacuum chamber, and the strand exits through a sealed withdrawal train. The casting platform — withdrawal machine, cut-off or coiling — is otherwise shared with the standard line.
What vacuum level does it reach?
The vacuum level is customized by alloy and product specification rather than quoted as a fixed number. Contact Wanfeng Furnace with your target alloy and specification, and the engineering team will confirm the chamber and pumping configuration.
What products can it make?
The line casts rod, bar, tube, and plate sections in the same size range as the standard horizontal platform, with strand count and section customized to your product.
What are the plant requirements?
Ceiling height of at least 6 m, footprint larger than 3 m × 6 m, and cooling water circulation of at least 30 t/h.
How much does it cost?
Price is customized by configuration. Contact Wanfeng Furnace at +86 17796741029 or zhang@wanf-furnace.com with your target alloy, section, and output.
Product page with configuration details: Vacuum Continuous Casting Machine.
Wanfeng Furnace — continuous casting and induction melting equipment manufacturer based in Luoyang, China. Manufacturing history since 1990; formally incorporated in 2009.
