A furnace and oven are interchangeable terms used when talking about heat treating equipment. Generally, furnaces operate at higher temperatures with radiant heat transfer, and ovens operate at lower temperatures with convection heat transfer. These furnaces and ovens consist of an insulated chamber with an external reinforced steel shell, a heating system for the chamber and one or more access doors. The types of furnaces and ovens covered herein shall be electrically heated box/batch design, used for "heat-hold-cool" temperature cycles with a water or oil quench when required. That is, the furnace or oven shall be designed to be repeatedly heated from room temperature to a maximum temperature, at a controlled rate, held at a temperature, and then cooled at a controlled rate or as required by the aerospace material specification for the particular alloy being heat treated. Heat treating cycles shall be executed by a programmable controller and be capable of being operated by Air Force Specialty Code 2A7X1. A data acquisition system shall be provided that readily produces a secure and irrefutable record of the heat treating cycle and includes all related batch documentation.