Batch furnace assembly for processing wafers, comprising a process chamber housing defining a process chamber and having a process chamber opening, a wafer boat housing defining a water boat chamber, a door assembly, a differential pressure sensor, and a controller. The door assembly has a closed position in which it closes off the process chamber opening. The door assembly defines in a closed position a door assembly chamber having a purge gas inlet for supplying purge gas to the door assembly chamber for gas sealingly separating the process chamber from the wafer boat chamber. The differential pressure sensor assembly fluidly connects to the door assembly chamber and is configured to determine a pressure difference between a pressure in the door assembly chamber and a reference pressure in a reference pressure chamber. The controller is configured to establish whether the pressure difference is in a desired pressure range.

A base component may be uses in a thermoprocessing system that includes the base component and at least one recipient enclosure for sealing a process chamber of the thermoprocessing system from an exterior thereof. The base component includes a main hub, and the main hub includes: an energy penetration for providing a heating or cooling energy from an exterior of the process chamber to the process chamber; a media inlet penetration for transporting a media from an exterior of the process chamber to the process chamber; and a media outlet penetration for transporting a media from the process chamber to an exterior of the process chamber.

According to one aspect, embodiments herein provide a furnace for debinding and sintering additively manufactured parts comprising a unitarily formed retort having at least one open side, a heater for heating a sintering volume within the retort to a debinding temperature and to a sintering temperature, an end cap sealing the at least one open side, a forming gas line penetrating the end cap for supplying forming gas at a flowrate, and a heat exchanger within the retort, outside the sintering volume, and adjacent a heated wall of the retort, the heat exchanger having an inlet connected to the forming gas line and an outlet to the sintering volume, wherein the heat exchanger includes a heat exchange tube length sufficient to heat the forming gas to within 20 degrees Celsius of the sintering temperature before the forming gas exits the outlet.

The invention relates to an injector configured for arrangement within a reaction chamber of a substrate processing apparatus to inject gas in the reaction chamber. The injector may be elongated along a first axis and configured with an internal gas conduction channel extending along the first axis and provided with at least one gas entrance opening and at least one gas exit opening. The injector may have a width extending along a second axis perpendicular to the first axis substantially larger than a depth of the injector extending along a third axis perpendicular to the first and second axis. The wall of the injector may have a varying thickness.

Hot wall bell-type furnaces and methods of treating metal and/or ceramic articles. A method of treating a metal/ceramic article includes placing the article with a tray/fixture on a furnace hearth. A retort bell can be placed over the fixture with the article. A furnace bell is then placed over the retort bell. A retort pressure in the retort bell can be reduced to a first vacuum pressure, and a support pressure in a plenum space between the retort bell and the furnace bell can be reduced to a second vacuum pressure. The article can be heated to a treatment temperature which can be maintained along with the first vacuum pressure and second vacuum pressure to treat the article to form a treated article. The article can be one or more of a green body to be sintered, a sintered article, and a cast article to be treated by any suitable heat treatment.

Hot wall bell-type furnaces and methods of treating metal and/or ceramic articles. A method of treating a metal/ceramic article includes placing the article with a tray/fixture on a furnace hearth. A retort bell can be placed over the fixture with the article. A furnace bell is then placed over the retort bell. A retort pressure in the retort bell can be reduced to a first vacuum pressure, and a support pressure in a plenum space between the retort bell and the furnace bell can be reduced to a second vacuum pressure. The article can be heated to a treatment temperature which can be maintained along with the first vacuum pressure and second vacuum pressure to treat the article to form a treated article. The article can be one or more of a green body to be sintered, a sintered article, and a cast article to be treated by any suitable heat treatment.

A furnace for thermal treatment with gaseous atmosphere quenching having a bell inside which there are provided a rotor regulating the gas atmosphere flow, a heat exchanger regulating the temperature of the gas atmosphere and a thermal chamber configured for thermal treatment and the following gaseous atmosphere quenching. The thermal chamber has at least a surface positioned on a side adjacent to the heat exchanger and at least a surface positioned on an opposed side to the adjacent one to the heat exchanger and wherein at least a surface has a plurality of screens which connect the inside of the thermal chamber with the inside of the bell to allow the passage of the gas atmosphere from the thermal chamber to the bell, wherein the screens are adjustable to modify the passage section and so the flow of the gas atmosphere in function of the temperature required by the thermal treatment.

A furnace for thermal treatment with gaseous atmosphere quenching having a bell inside which there are provided a rotor regulating the gas atmosphere flow, a heat exchanger regulating the temperature of the gas atmosphere and a thermal chamber configured for thermal treatment and the following gaseous atmosphere quenching. The thermal chamber has at least a surface positioned on a side adjacent to the heat exchanger and at least a surface positioned on an opposed side to the adjacent one to the heat exchanger and wherein at least a surface has a plurality of screens which connect the inside of the thermal chamber with the inside of the bell to allow the passage of the gas atmosphere from the thermal chamber to the bell, wherein the screens are adjustable to modify the passage section and so the flow of the gas atmosphere in function of the temperature required by the thermal treatment.

A forced air supply combustion apparatus sucks combustion air from an air supply port. An air filter for collecting foreign matters in the air is mounted on an air-supply-port-formed plate in an insertable and drawable manner. A filter frame is arranged to be brought into close contact with a peripheral part of the air supply port in a state of having mounted the air filter in position. The air-supply-port side edge parts are provided with retaining pieces to clamp a filter side frame part in the Z-axis direction against the side edge parts. A distance in the Z-axis direction between the air-supply-port side edge parts, and the retaining pieces is set larger than a dimension, in the Z-axis direction, of the filter side frame part, and is set smaller than a sum of the dimensions to be obtained by adding to said dimensions the projection height of the projections provided in a projecting manner.

The present invention relates to a batch furnace for annealing material comprising a furnace housing which has a closable loading opening, a receiving chamber for furnace material and a device for convective heat transfer to the furnace material by a heat transfer medium, wherein the device for convective heat transfer comprises at least one heating device and at least one fan which is arranged in the furnace housing wherein the receiving chamber is arranged on the suction side of the fan and at least one nozzle array is arranged on the pressure side of the fan, wherein the nozzle array has a central opening which forms an intake duct of the fan and the nozzle array projects radially beyond the fan. The invention further relates to a method for heat treatment of a furnace material.