In the early development of vacuum precision casting furnaces, horizontal furnaces appeared, which were basically the same period as vertical furnaces. In terms of equipment composition, the auxiliary mechanisms for feeding, temperature measurement, observation, etc. of this type of equipment are no different from those of a vertical furnace, except for the layout. But as of now, the market share of vertical furnaces has surpassed that of horizontal furnaces. There are several reasons for this:
1. Vertical furnaces are not only suitable for equiaxed crystal casting, but also for the production of columnar crystals and single crystals. They have good adaptability and equipment manufacturers prefer standardized and modular design ideas;
2. The vertical space of a horizontal furnace is small, and many precision casting processes require a certain flow rate and velocity of the molten metal during casting (obtained through gravitational potential energy). Therefore, the structural dimensions of a horizontal furnace in vertical space are not conducive to this;
3. For equipment that requires the installation of mold heaters for heating/insulation of molds, vertical furnaces have more advantages in terms of furnace space layout, and have a large space for personnel maintenance, making it easy to maintain and operate.
Due to the above reasons, the overall number of horizontal vacuum precision casting furnaces is smaller than that of vertical furnaces.