Compare LABORATORY BOX FURNACES or LAB CHAMBER FURNACES. Laboratory furnaces are box or chamber for high temperature use. Lab box and lab chamber furnaces have a maximum temperature range from 1100C (2000F) to 1800C (3300F). To withstand these temperatures, these furnaces use refractory materials, primarily ceramics.

Box furnaces are laboratory furnaces that are cubical. This shape makes them easier to use on a bench than tube furnaces. They are top, front, or bottom loading. Top load box furnaces have a swing door on the top. Front load box furnaces have a side swinging door, side swinging plug, a drop down door, or a vertical lift up door. Bottom load box or top hat furnaces have an elevator that drops down the heating chamber over the product to be heated.

Some furnaces have a muffle to keep the heating elements away from the product being heated or have embeded the heating elements in the ceramic insulation. They have a double wall construction so the outer wall of the case is much cooler than the inside of the oven.  They are typically used for heat treating, annealing, hardening, tempering, firing, drawing, and brazing in the ceramics, glass, and metal industries.