VAR - Vacuum Arc Remelting

Our Canton, Ohio melt shop houses 4 VAR furnaces capable of producing VAR ingots up to 40” in diameter and approximately 45,000 lbs in weight. Other standard ingot sizes include 24” and 32” diameter. During VAR remelting, an electric arc is struck at the tip of an air melted ingot (referred to as an “electrode”). Since the melting occurs under vacuum, the chemical and physical uniformity of the material is significantly improved. Dissolved gasses such as hydrogen, nitrogen and CO are removed and the frequency of non-metallic inclusions is reduced. The resulting remelted material has much improved mechanical properties, including greater tensile ductility as well as superior impact and fatigue resistance, particularly in the transverse direction.

Vacuum Arc Remelting Schematic	Electro Slag Remelting Schematic
Click Schematics above for enlarged view

ESR - Electro Slag Remelting

Like VAR, the ESR process involves remelting solid consumable electrodes, but the metal purification is achieved by chemical reaction with a liquid slag. In this way, very low Sulphur levels can be achieved in the final product. Non-metallic inclusions are removed by physical flotation through the slag. ESR produces an excellent ingot surface and a resulting improved yield, when compared to VAR.