The term "muffle furnace" is actually a transliteration of the English phrase. "Muffle" means to enclose, while "furnace" refers to an oven or furnace. Due to its box-like shape, the muffle furnace is also known as a box furnace or a resistance furnace. It is clear that the muffle furnace and the box furnace are essentially the same thing. The muffle furnace, or box furnace, is a general-purpose electric heating equipment that operates by automatically connecting or disconnecting the heat source energy to the furnace based on the deviation from the set temperature, or continuously adjusting the size of the heat source energy, to stabilize the furnace temperature within the specified range and meet the requirements of heat treatment processes.

The classifications of muffle furnaces can be categorized based on different heating elements, temperature ranges, and materials of the furnace chamber into the following types:

1. Differing by heating elements, we have: Resistance Wire Muffle Furnaces, Silicon Carbon Rod Muffle Furnaces, and Silicon Molybdenum Rod Muffle Furnaces.

2. Generally, they are categorized by temperature: below 1000°C muffle furnaces, 1200°C muffle furnaces, 1400°C muffle furnaces, 1700°C muffle furnaces, and 1800°C muffle furnaces.

3. The insulation materials are categorized into two types: ordinary refractory bricks and ceramic fiber.