Vacuum Arc Remelt
(VAR) Furnaces
Visit Product PageA Research and Development furnace, VAR-R offers the same features as VAR-T and VAR-S, but with added versatility, reduced footprint, and lower costs.
Visit Product PageRetech furnishes Vacuum Arc Remelt (VAR) furnaces configured for Skull Casting, also called Consumable Casting, for a range of products, including aerospace, consumer, and commercial applications.
Customized
VAR Furnace Systems
Retech VAR furnaces can be configured for a range of capacities for producing ingots or castings, from a laboratory scale to many tons, depending on customer requirements. The systems are maintenance-friendly and utilize fully integrated process control architecture and built-in features for safe, efficient operation. We actively work with those customers to develop the necessary equipment solutions, including upstream and downstream components, as well as alloy and application development.
Retech's VAR Technology
Vacuum Arc Remelting (VAR) is a secondary melting process that uses an electric arc inside a vacuum chamber to improve homogeneity in metal alloy ingots. This equipment can be used for reactive and refractory metals as well as high value steels.
Since 1963, Retech has enjoyed being a worldwide leader in the production of Vacuum Arc Remelt (VAR) furnaces configured for a range of capacities for producing ingots or castings, from a laboratory scale to many tons.
VAR is used for production of metal ingots that require high chemical and mechanical homogeneity. It is used on a variety of metals including various grades of stainless steel, alloy steel, titanium alloys, nickel superalloys, nitinol, zirconium, niobium, platinum, tantalum, and rhodium…among others.
Materials are processed in the VAR to remove or reduce contaminants and to allow the material to form the desired microstructure (grain structure) that will improve the performance in the desired application. Retech has primarily sold VAR equipment into the Titanium processing market so these materials would be titanium alloys. However, specialty steels often require VAR processing to increase the cleanliness and homogeneity of the ingots.


