Proper Design Enhances the Life of a Serpentine Tray

A question often asked of Andy Alloy is “How can I make my Serpentine Tray last longer?” To answer this question, let me first describe why a Serpentine Tray is used in a heat treat furnace. Lightness in weight and flexibility in service are the major attributes of a Serpentine Tray. Keeping the weight of the tray to less than 20% of the applied loading is often a feature of a fabricated Serpentine Tray. These characteristics are something you don’t find in the cast tray often considered as the competitive product.

To provide a proper design, AE engineers need to know a few basic facts. The operating parameters of the furnace, including temperature, atmosphere, etc., are starters. They also need to know the size and weight of the parts being heat treated. In a static operating position, the size and location of the support structure is a must. In a dynamic operation, the spacing of the rollers has a significant impact on the design. Perhaps a most important issue is what you, the customer, are expecting from the tray.

Once this information is obtained, the trained Engineer can go to work and design a durable, structurally sound Serpentine Tray. First, material selection is made. The allowable creep stress of the material associated with the furnace operating parameters is determined. The part size will mandate the spacing of the supporting members. The engineer can then plug this information into his engineering program that considers beam strengths, cantilever effects, and height-to-thickness ratios.   The result is a lightweight tray design, with the ideal sized members for the application.

To have Andy Alloy evaluate your application, please fill out the inquiry form on this site, and he or one of his trained professionals will contact you shortly.