Quench Oil Conditioning

[AidanMc]

First off let me warn everyone that I'm new to the workforce and still trying to learn all I can.

Now my real question: I have a vacuum furnace that we need to add a significant amount of quench oil to, in the area of 100-200 gallons. I know that we should condition the oil overnight (heat up to ~160F and agitate at least overnight). The question I have about the process is whether or not I can continue to run production and quench in the oil if its being conditioned. My boss/mentor is out for a few days and I just wanted to be proactive in trying to get the oil in, but I don't want to significantly impact our production as we are already somewhat behind.

Thanks in advance for the help.

Aidan McAllister
Metallurgical Engineer
Automotive Enthusiast

 

[TVP]

The concern will be if adding the new oil will cause the temperature to be too low, or if there will be significant temperature variation when adding the new oil. More distortion and variable hardness/microstructure will be the possible problems. If the parts are not especially sensitive to distortion and if the allowable hardness has a sufficient tolerance, then you may consider the oil change. If either of these items is critical or has been historically problematic, then I would defer until the bossman returneth.