Rotary Retort Design and Fabrication

Alloy Engineering has been designing and fabricating rotary retorts for high-temperature applications for more than 25 years. A properly fabricated rotary retort can surpass the life cycle of a cast retort by up to 400% and, in many cases, cut production costs by up to 50%.

Our fabricated retorts supply a number of advantages for industrial manufacturers including:

• Flexibility in design
• Ductile wrought materials (low carbon content and tight grain structure)
• Shorter cycle times
• Long service life
• Shorter fabrication lead times compared to a cast retort

Flexibility

A fabricated rotary retort offers the flexibility to actually “grow” along with your business. Custom fabrication can accommodate growing production requirements, such as increasing the size of the retort body, as one example, to handle a larger batch load.

Both turnaround and cost are often less with a fabricated rotary retort. A cast retort takes longer to produce and is more expensive by comparison.

Material Integrity

We fabricate both batch and continuous rotary retorts from wrought nickel and stainless alloys. Fabricated retorts made from wrought materials have a homogeneous, small and tight-grain microstructure proven to be highly resistant to the extreme furnace environments. This material integrity with its tight-grain microstructure results in a retort with fewer origination points for thermal stresses or thermal fatigue, which can cause premature equipment failure.

The ductility of the material resists thermal fatigue and thermal shock which translates into increased uptime and a lower cost per hour.

In addition, a fabricated rotary retort will have a smoother, less porous and more consistent surface finish than cast retorts. This design avoids focal points for corrosion or stress that could lead to material fatigue.

Shorter Cycle Times

Wrought retorts weigh less and heat up faster than cast retorts, an ideal circumstance for shorter cycle times.

Other features/advantages:

• Alloy Engineering’s advanced fabrication techniques minimize welding requirements
• Material ductility resists thermal fatigue and thermal shock for increased uptime, resulting in a lower cost/hour
• Rotary retort service life, at temperature, anticipated at 2.5 to 5 years under proper controls

Industries Served

A rotary retort fabricated by Alloy Engineering can replace and/or improve upon equipment supplied by the original equipment manufacturer. Types of products and/or manufacturers that utilize a rotary retort could include:

• Automotive components
• Ball and roller bearings
• Chains
• Fasteners