Furnace for Large Scale Titanium Production: A description of a new two station consumable‐electrode vacuum arc melting furnace

A FURNACE that is believed to be the only one of its kind in the world specifically designed for large scale titanium production was recently opened at Imperial Metal Industries Ltd., Birmingham. Previous installations for titanium have always been water cooled and this has involved the risk of an explosion in the event of water coming into contact with molten metal in the crucible, but the new furnace is of the consumable‐electrode, vacuum arc melting type, in which a non‐reactive, liquid‐metal coolant is used. The necessity for enclosing the facility in blast proof reinforced concrete cubicles has been avoided, and this has also brought with it the advantage of open‐shop operation with increased productivity and ease of maintenance.