A furnace load treated as a unit: the parts, baskets and fixtures that go in together and get one cycle. Charge weight and arrangement set heat-up time, atmosphere demand and quench capacity, so recipes often list maximum gross and net weights. As a verb it means loading the furnace, and charge temperature is the furnace temperature when the load goes in.
Charge is 1,800 pounds gross on four trays, that's the max for that tank, don't add another layer.
Also heard as
- load
- furnace load
- batch
Related terms
Alloy
Heat-treat slang for the heat-resistant baskets, trays, grids and fixtures that carry parts through the furnace.
At heat
Shop phrase meaning a load has reached its setpoint temperature, so its soak time can start counting.
Recipe
Shop word for the stored program of temperatures, times and atmosphere setpoints that runs a furnace cycle.
Traveler
The paperwork that rides with a lot through the shop, recording each operation, furnace, time and result.