Galvanizing Equipment

Furnace Considerations

Furnace design and kettle life are closely related and should not be overlooked. Kettle life depends entirely on the amount of heat transferred through the kettle’s outside wall. The design of the furnace and its ability to transfer heat efficiently with minimum damage to the kettle is the single most critical part of a galvanizing operation. If the kettle’s inside wall is kept at the lowest, most uniform temperature, erosion of the kettle wall is minimized.

End Fired Furnaces

End fired furnaces are an excellent choice for specific plant applications with moderate production rates and small- to medium-sized part production. They are easy to operate and maintain and typically less expensive to build than other types. End fired furnaces must be carefully designed so as not to unintentionally promote uneven kettle wall erosion under certain situations.

Flat Flame Furnaces

For high production rate and large part production applications, a well-designed side fired or “flat flame” furnace is an ideal choice. If the kettle is properly sized for the desired production rate, kettle life will be much improved over industry average using a flat flame furnace. The major disadvantage is cost, but costs must be compared between furnace designs over the life of the furnace and the production rates desired, not simply the initial up-front cost.

Galvanizing Kettles

Hot dip galvanizing kettles are fabricated from steel plate specially formulated for galvanizing kettle construction, along with state-of-the-art welding techniques that produce weld joints nearly identical to the special steel plate chemistry. UCS can provide either flat bottom or round bottom kettles, both of which are commonly used in the hot dip galvanizing market today. Either of these designs offer identical service life regardless of length, width or depth. In addition, we can support any customer-specific requirements such as kettle size, thickness, shape, lifting lugs, additional flanges or stainless-steel heat shields.

Centrifuge and Spinning Equipment

Centrifuge and spinning equipment are highly efficient ways to galvanize small parts.  The equipment consists of a main centrifuge spin chamber that accepts removable baskets of just-galvanized parts, where each basket can hold up to 1,500 lbs.  Once the basket is placed inside the spin chamber the excess zinc is spun off the parts as the chamber rotates. Equipment can be designed for stand-alone use or be fully automated within your galvanizing process. Another option is a hanging centrifuge which attaches to your crane hook. This centrifuge has been completely redesigned by UCS to improve its useful life, be easy to operation and reduce maintenance costs.

Lined and Un-lined Process Tanks

All tanks are engineered and fabricated of structural steel plate and are externally reinforced with structural members that make them self-supporting. If you prefer to have some or all of your tanks lined, we offer fully welded drop-in polypropylene liners. This allows for quick and easy changeouts of the liners. Another option is a 100% polypropylene tank that is fully welded, with external supports that enable it to be free-standing. Depending on the chemicals used or your preference for operations, we also offer heating systems for all process tanks.

Acid, Acid Rinse and Flux Tanks

Acid, acid rinse and flux tanks are normally constructed of mild steel plate and are reinforced throughout. The tanks are then lined with polypropylene copolymer sheets for protection. Another option is a freestanding polypropylene tank constructed of structural steel completely encapsulated with polypropylene.

Quench Tanks

Quench tanks are normally constructed of mild steel plate and reinforced throughout.