Combustion technology, furnace structure, refractories, electric control, hydraulic tilting system and exhaust system, all built on thorough engineering calculation to meet the customer’s process needs and deliver a reliable system, with a faster aluminium recovery time.
Reliable thermal performance, engineered for efficiency. A compact furnace for aluminium melting and holding, with controlled combustion, zoned refractory, practical maintenance access and an integrated exhaust system.
Tower / shaft type with a melting capacity of 1.5 ton/hour. Charge material is preheated by exhaust gas on its way down, then flows into a holding chamber that keeps the aluminium at the right temperature for the next process.
Integrated solutions for aluminium recycling and production: from melting and holding, through the casting conveyor and moulds, to cooling, ingot release, conveying and stacking.
Many crucible type melting and holding furnaces built by MWT, from compact burner systems to complex regenerative burner systems and electric heating element models, in capacities from 250 kg to 1 T and beyond, for aluminium, copper and other light metals. Used beside die casting, gravity casting and low pressure casting machines and for scrap recycling, and built into full production lines.
A central melting furnace for aluminium, from 250 kg/hr to 2.5 T/hr and beyond to the customer’s capacity. Charge material is preheated by exhaust gas in the tower, and molten aluminium is sent by ladle transport or launder to holding furnaces. Built on reliable combustion design, thermal conductivity and low heat loss.
These are selected examples. MWT builds many more types of industrial furnaces, each engineered around the customer’s process.
Tell us what you needStandard models are only a starting point. Every industrial furnace MWT builds begins with your material, your temperature profile, your capacity and the way your plant actually runs. Tell us what your process needs, and our engineers will design, build and commission the furnace around it, from a single melting furnace to a complete ingot casting system.
Every customer has different industrial furnace needs, from material characteristics and production capacity to charging method and operating pattern. That is why the right solution cannot come from a generic design. This is where engineering plays a crucial role: translating customer needs into measured technical decisions at every detail of the furnace.
In an aluminium reverberatory furnace of up to 40 tons, choosing the reverberatory type was a design decision made to meet the customer’s operational needs. That decision, however, brings challenges that must be solved. A wide charging door opening makes it easier to load material, but also increases heat loss whenever the door is open. Repeated, lengthy charging, together with skimming activity, can cause the temperature to drop and extend the heat recovery time, which ultimately affects the entire production cycle.
This is where MWT Engineering comes in. Through thorough engineering calculation and long experience in industrial furnace engineering, MWT integrates the furnace chamber geometry, combustion capacity and direction, control system response, refractory and insulation configuration, door construction and exhaust gas management. Every decision is aimed at controlling heat loss, supporting temperature recovery, and aligning furnace performance with the customer’s actual operating conditions.
The goal is clear: to optimise a single process cycle so that it delivers ready-to-use molten aluminium at the required temperature, in an efficient and consistent time. Furnace performance must be judged across the whole process: during charging, melting, skimming, holding and molten metal transfer.
MWT presents an aluminium reverberatory furnace concept that combines a compact size, robust construction and well-directed heat management. Developed for aluminium melting and holding, this furnace prioritises temperature stability, ease of operation and cost efficiency throughout its service life.
A furnace’s strength starts with the match between burner capacity, flame characteristics, burner position and combustion chamber geometry. The combustion design is aimed at distributing heat effectively through radiation from the furnace chamber and the flow of hot gases, while reducing overheating at any single point.
Air–fuel ratio and temperature control let the heat supply follow melting and holding needs. The system can be equipped with modulating burners, PID control, flame monitoring, a pre-ignition purge sequence, and interlocks for gas and combustion air pressure. This integration supports stable combustion, safe operation and controlled fuel consumption.
Refractory is selected for the function of each furnace zone. Areas in contact with molten aluminium need materials that resist penetration and chemical attack by aluminium, with non-wetting characteristics that help reduce metal adhesion. The charging, door and burner areas need resistance to abrasion, temperature change and local heat load.
Lining performance is strengthened through thickness design, expansion joints, anchoring in the appropriate zones, and controlled installation and dry-out procedures. This approach helps maintain refractory integrity, makes maintenance easier and supports a long operating life.
The refractory and insulation layers work as one system: the inner surface faces the process conditions, while the backing layers limit heat loss toward the furnace shell.
Thermal conductivity and thickness of each layer are chosen to minimise heat loss without sacrificing lining durability. Door and sealing design also help reduce heat leakage and the intake of outside air. The intended result is a more stable process temperature and more effective energy use.
The furnace shell uses steel construction with reinforcement matched to the lining weight, the aluminium load and the operating conditions. Structural details take thermal expansion into account, as well as the need to keep the furnace shape stable.
Access for charging, skimming, tapping, inspection and component replacement is designed to support operators and technicians. Easy-to-maintain construction helps speed up fault handling and reduce production downtime.
The exhaust path is designed together with the combustion system to regulate the release of hot gases and keep the furnace chamber pressure balanced. Flue, ducting and damper dimensions, and exhaust fan requirements, are matched to gas flow rate and temperature so that heat is not released excessively.
Depending on the raw material and the facility’s needs, the system can be extended with a fume capture hood, gas temperature conditioning, particulate filtration or heat recovery. The choice of exhaust treatment is based on actual contaminants, flux use and the customer’s emission targets.
MWT integrates combustion, control, refractory, furnace shell and exhaust as one engineering whole. Each part is designed to support the others: stable combustion, effective use of heat, construction that withstands hard work, and practical maintenance.
With this approach, the MWT Compact Aluminium Reverberatory Furnace offers value through process reliability, control of energy loss and operating cost efficiency, from design, manufacturing and installation through to commissioning.
Every customer has a different material character, charging pattern and demand for molten aluminium. Reaching a melting capacity of 1.5 tons per hour therefore requires the furnace design to match actual production conditions, from the shape and size of the charge material to the required metal temperature.
In a tower or shaft furnace, material is charged from the top and preheated by hot gases travelling toward the exhaust path. This use of exhaust heat helps reduce the energy needed at the melting stage.
The molten aluminium then flows into the holding chamber, where it is kept at the right temperature until it is used in the next process.
Shaft dimensions and material characteristics must match so that the charge descends smoothly and the risk of material hanging up, or bridging, is reduced.
Burner position, heat distribution, hearth geometry and the passage to the holding chamber must work in step to support molten metal flow and reduce the risk of cold spots and dross build-up.
Through engineering calculation and experience in industrial furnace engineering, MWT integrates the charging system, combustion, temperature control, refractory, insulation, furnace shell and exhaust gas management as one whole.
The melting and holding areas are designed for their respective functions: providing the energy to melt the material while keeping the molten aluminium ready for production needs.
Refractory selection takes into account resistance to molten aluminium contact, charging abrasion and temperature change. Insulation layers help limit heat loss.
Access for skimming, inspection and maintenance is designed so that the furnace remains practical to operate throughout its service life.
The goal is a continuous supply of molten aluminium, controlled temperature and an efficient production cycle.
The 1.5-ton-per-hour capacity is defined according to the type and condition of the raw material, the charging pattern and the agreed outlet temperature.
Turning molten aluminium into consistent ingots requires alignment between metal supply, pouring control, cooling and product handling. For scrap recycling as well as ingot production from other molten metal sources, MWT Engineering develops a complete ingot casting system tailored to the customer’s production capacity, alloy type, ingot size and level of automation.
Depending on product quality requirements, the line can be extended with degassing and filtration before casting, as well as dross handling and fume extraction at the relevant process points.
The strength of the engineering lies in how well each stage works with the others. Metal temperature at pouring, flow stability, conveyor speed, mould capacity and cooling rate must be in step.
A mismatch in any one part can cause inconsistent ingot weight, incomplete filling, metal overflow, or ingots that have not solidified enough when released.
MWT considers all of these relationships in the system design: from mould geometry and resistance to thermal cycling, through conveyor and drive construction, to speed control, temperature monitoring and operational interlocks.
The cooling method is selected to suit solidification needs, with strict water and moisture management to prevent uncontrolled contact with molten metal.
For scrap recycling, the design also takes into account variations in raw material composition, melt cleanliness and the need to separate different alloys. For other production, the system is matched to the molten metal supply and the rhythm of the preceding process.
Applying the system to light metals other than aluminium requires specific adjustments for metal characteristics, material compatibility and process protection needs.
The goal is an orderly production flow, ingots of controlled size and weight, and more efficient product handling.
Access for inspection, mould replacement, conveyor maintenance and cleaning of metal paths is an important part of the design.
MWT has built a great many crucible type melting and holding furnaces, and that experience shows in every unit we deliver. Whatever the metal, the batch size or the operating pattern, we engineer the furnace to fit the way the customer actually works. Standard capacities run from 250 kg to 1 T, and beyond that range MWT builds to the customer’s requirement. The metals we melt and hold range from aluminium to copper and other light metals.
Experience matters because a crucible furnace is more than a heated pot. The heating system, refractory, insulation, crucible support, tilting or tapping arrangement, exhaust and control all work together, and small decisions in one area decide the fuel use, melt time and service life of the whole furnace. Having built many of them, we know where those decisions count.
That is why MWT offers more than one answer. Customers can choose the heating system that suits their operation, from a compact burner system to a complex regenerative burner system, or an electric heating element model. Our thermal engineering team stands behind all of them.
For melting and holding operations that need dependable performance without unnecessary complexity, MWT builds crucible furnaces with compact burner systems. Burner capacity, flame direction and chamber geometry are matched to the crucible, so heat is delivered where the metal needs it.
Controlled air–fuel ratio and temperature control keep the melt stable, while a straightforward layout keeps operation and maintenance easy for the plant team.
For higher throughput and tighter energy targets, MWT engineers more complex systems with regenerative burners. Heat from the exhaust gas is recovered and returned to the combustion air, so the furnace does more work from every unit of fuel.
These systems are integrated with electrical control, combustion safety and exhaust management as one package, built to run continuously and consistently.
Where the process calls for clean operation and precise temperature control, MWT also builds crucible furnaces with electric heating elements. They suit melting and holding applications that value stable temperature and a tidy working environment.
The same engineering discipline applies: element layout, insulation, refractory and control are designed together around the customer’s operating pattern.
MWT does not stop at a single furnace. We also build full production line systems, integrating melting, holding, metal transfer and casting equipment into one engineered line, so every stage works together from raw material to finished casting.
MWT builds tower charging continuous melting–holding furnaces for aluminium, from 250 kg/hr up to 2.5 T/hr. Where a plant needs more or less, we engineer the capacity to the customer’s requirement.
This furnace is typically used for central melting. Aluminium is melted continuously in one place, then transported as molten metal by ladle transport or through a launder to holding furnaces, commonly crucible type, beside the casting machines. One efficient melting point serves many casting stations.
For a furnace that runs around the clock, three things decide performance and operating cost: the reliability of the combustion design, thermal conductivity, and heat loss. MWT engineers all three together.
In a continuous furnace the burners run for long periods under changing load, so combustion design has to be dependable. Burner capacity, flame direction and chamber geometry are matched to the melting zone, with air–fuel ratio and temperature control that keep the flame stable as charging continues.
Combustion safety and control are built in as part of the system, so the furnace delivers steady heat day after day with controlled fuel consumption.
Heat transfer from flame and hot gas into the charge decides how fast and how evenly aluminium melts. Furnace geometry and refractory are selected so heat reaches the charge efficiently, while the lining resists molten aluminium and thermal cycling.
Exhaust gas passes up through the tower and preheats the incoming charge, so heat that would otherwise leave the stack is put to work before the metal reaches the melting zone.
Refractory and insulation work together as one system, with layer thickness and conductivity chosen to limit heat loss to the furnace shell. Charging door, sealing and exhaust design reduce heat leakage and the intake of outside air.
Lower heat loss means lower fuel consumption per tonne and a more stable melt temperature, which matters most in a furnace that runs continuously.
For a manufacturing business owner, the value of a furnace or thermal system shows over its whole service life. MWT takes these factors into account on every project, from design through manufacturing, installation and commissioning, to support productivity and long-term investment value.
