The Kanthal story — Kanthal®

Electric heating and its impact on modern society - 90 years of industrial development

The stunning development we have seen since the 1930s would not have happened without new ideas, research and innovative products and solutions. Kanthal was first built on the innovative Kanthal® FeCrAl alloy that changed how electric heating could be used. Since then, we have continued to launch new materials and solutions for heating and heat treatment to the market.

Below, you can learn more about three game-changing innovations.

KANTHAL® A

The original FeCrAl innovation that laid the foundation for the Kanthal company.

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The material

Kanthal® A is an electric resistance alloy of iron, chromium and aluminum (FeCrAl).

The inventor

Hans von Kantzow, engineer and founder of Kanthal, developed the FeCrAl alloy in the 1920s. What started out as an unplanned discovery developed into a completely new resistance material. Kanthal® A was patented in 1931, but the application was made five years earlier.

Introduced to the market

The FeCrAl alloy was introduced in the 1930s and became a game changer. It could handle temperatures of up to 1,350°C (2,460°F), much higher than the existing nickel-chromium (NiCr) alloys. Kanthal expanded rapidly on the world market.

Key properties

Kanthal® A offers high resistivity and excellent corrosion resistance at high temperatures.

Industry impact

Compared with the existing NiCr alloys, Kanthal® A offers many advantages, including higher resistivity, longer element lifetime, higher corrosion resistance, lower density and more resistance to carburizing atmospheres.

Iron vs nickel

Kanthal® A was an attractive alternative during the Great Depression and World War Two as it replaced expensive nickel with cheap iron.

The first application

The first large order for Kanthal® A was in the 1930s from Robert Bosch AG in Stuttgart, where it was used for glow plugs, heating devices used to help start diesel engines, which are also used today in diesel-powered cars. The next big order for Kanthal was to be used for starters and brake resistors in hoisting cranes.

A useful alloy

Kanthal® A quickly became the first choice for electric resistance wire in home appliances and electric radiators.

Kanthal A-1

Kanthal® A was further developed into Kanthal® A-1, which could resist temperatures of up to 1,400°C (2,550°F). Kanthal® A-1 became, and still is, an attractive choice for industrial furnaces.

Further development

Since Kanthal® A was released in 1931, Kanthal has developed a range of FeCrAl alloys suitable for different applications. The largest breakthrough has been the introduction of Kanthal® APM in the 1980s.

KANTHAL® SUPER

The first molybdenum disilicide material commercially available on the market.

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The material

Kanthal® Super is a molybdenum disilicide-based cermet (MoSi2), which has characteristics of both metals and ceramics. The material is mainly used as a heating element.

The inventors

Hans von Kantzow initiated the development of molybdenum disilicide-based heating elements during a visit to the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh in 1938. Ten years later, Kanthal employees Gösta Rehnqvist, Erik Hägglund and Nils Schrewelius began researching MoSi2 compositions, which resulted in the patent of the first Kanthal® Super alloy in 1956. 

Introduced to the market

When Kanthal® Super was launched in 1956, it was the first commercial molybdenum disilicide material on the market, and it could handle temperatures of up to 1,700°C (3,100°F).

Key for success

The addition of bentonite to the molybdenum disilicide powder was a key breakthrough. The combination of metal and ceramic ingredients gave Kanthal® Super its unbeatable oxidation and corrosion resistance to very high temperatures.

Key properties

Kanthal® Super has many attractive properties, including a high melting point, moderate density and exceptional oxidation resistance.

Industry impact

When introduced to the market, Kanthal® Super met a growing need for high-quality resistance materials for high-temperature processes. Compared to the then existing silicon carbide elements, Kanthal® Super offered higher watt loadings, stable electrical resistance over time, the ability to take any element shape and longer inherent life.

The first application

Kanthal® Super elements were introduced with caution. The first applications included smaller furnaces for laboratory use. The alloy was also perfect for sintering or firing ceramics and bathroom porcelain in electric kilns.

Connected in series

Thanks to its longevity and electrical stability, new and old Kanthal® Super elements can be connected in series without losing capacity.

Endless application possibilities

Kanthal® Super elements have proved to be useful not only in high temperatures but also at lower temperatures, particularly in the field of heat treatment of metallic products in controlled atmospheres and glass processing applications.

Further development

Through intense research Kanthal has been able to raise the element temperature from 1,700°C (3,100°F) in 1956 to 1,850°C (3,360°F) today. Many new designs and applications are expected in the future.

KANTHAL® APM

The material that ensured the growing production of semiconductors in the 1980s and since then has been used to increase production efficiency in a wide range of industries.

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The material

Kanthal® APM can be described as a powder version of Kanthal® A-1, the development of which led to the birth of the company.

The inventors

The Kanthal® APM alloy was patented 1986. It was invented by Bo Jönsson, former R&D manager at Kanthal, and Roger Berglund, senior expert at R&D. Since then, many people have worked with application development and in 2017 it was rewarded Sandvik’s Wilhelm Haglund medal for marking a “paradigm shift in thermal technology”.

Introduced in 1986

The material was developed under the working name AZ during the 80s and the first wire samples were sent to selected customers in Europe, the United States and Japan in 1986. In 1988, after successful tests, the material was launched as Kanthal APM.

Key properties

Being a powder metal alloy, Kanthal® APM can be molded into any shape. The material possesses superior oxidation and corrosion resistance compared with FeNiCr and NiCr materials and has high electric resistance properties. It outperforms Kanthal® A and Kanthal® A-1 when it comes to form stability at high temperatures.

Industry impact

Kanthal® APM has had great impact on the development of the production of silicon-based semiconductors – from the furnaces in the 1980s to today’s advanced processes. The material has also increased efficiency in different types of heating elements. It has greatly increased the lifetime of heating solutions, minimizing maintenance and losses in production time.

The first applications

In the 1980s, the growing production of semiconductors called for horizontal furnaces with larger diameters. Heating elements produced from conventional heating wires were mechanically unstable and deformed too much when heated. The industry needed heating wire with better form stability. When launched, Kanthal® APM solved this problem and has since become a standard solution for this application.

Endless possibilities

Good form stability is useful for other products as well. Many conventional types of industrial heating elements can be run with higher maximum effect if produced from Kanthal® APM. Special element types, such as Tubothal®, need Kanthal® APM rods in order not to break down due to heat deformation.

APM tubes

In the late 1980s, extruded tubes of Kanthal® APM were launched as an alternative to cast NiCr tubes. The excellent oxidation properties at high temperatures compared to NiCr offered less maintenance and longer tube life.

Further development

Further development of Kanthal® APM resulted in Kanthal® APMT, which was launched on the market in 2004 in the shape of tubes. APMT has higher mechanical strength at elevated temperatures compared with APM and the same good properties in oxidizing, carburizing and sulfurizing environments. Today, Kanthal® APMT is available in other product shapes as well, such as rods, billets, plates and strip.

From past to present

Read more about where we come from and who we are today

History

Kanthal has a long heritage dating back to 1931 when it was founded by engineer Hans von Kantzow. The Kanthal name was derived from Kantzow (Kant) and the Swedish town of Hallstahammar (Hal) where AB Kanthal was started and continues to have its headquarters.

History of Kanthal

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