A method of producing a ceramic fired body may includes a step of passing a first accommodating shelf through a firing kiln, the first accommodating shelf including a stack of units of a shelf plate and a frame placed on the shelf plate, one or more ceramic bodies placed on the shelf plate being surrounded by the frame extending in a circumferential direction between the shelf plates; a step of retrieving one or more frames from the first accommodating shelf which has passed through the firing kiln; a step of using the one or more retrieved frames to build a second accommodating shelf for passing through the firing kiln; and a step of rotating the retrieved frame such that a rotational position of the retrieved frame when the second accommodating shelf passes through the firing kiln is different from a rotational position of the retrieved frame when the first accommodating shelf passed through the firing kiln.

An auxiliary heating means for improving the melting efficiency of melter kettles used to melt thermoplastic pavement marking materials. The auxiliary heating means includes a tube assembly through which thermoplastic material received from the bottom of the melter kettle is transferred to the top of the melter kettle. The tube assembly comprises an odd number of tubes having augers therein. The tube assembly is coupled to a side portion of the melter kettle and located within a heat chamber through which hot combustion gases from a combustion chamber at the bottom of the melter kettle flow and transfer heat into the tube assembly. The heat chamber comprises an extended portion of a heat chamber that surrounds the melter kettle.

An apparatus for forming a solar cell includes a housing defining a vacuum chamber, a rotatable substrate support, at least one inner heater and at least one outer heater. The substrate support is inside the vacuum chamber configured to hold a substrate. The at least one inner heater is between a center of the vacuum chamber and the substrate support, and is configured to heat a back surface of a substrate on the substrate support. The at least one outer heater is between an outer surface of the vacuum chamber and the substrate support, and is configured to heat a front surface of a substrate on the substrate support.

A melting furnace is provided, that may contain a furnace shell, a furnace shell moving mechanism that supports the furnace shell so as to be movable on an installation surface, a pipe or a wiring that has one end fixed to the furnace shell and has at least partially, a flexible portion, and a stand. The stand may contain a supporting part that supports a halfway portion of the pipe or the wiring, and a stand moving part that is coupled to the supporting part and moves the supporting part on an installation surface in synchronization with movement of the furnace shell, in which the stand is mounted on the installation surface so as to be movable up and down with respect to the furnace shell.

An auxiliary heating means for improving the melting efficiency of melter kettles used to melt thermoplastic pavement marking materials. The auxiliary heating means includes a tube assembly through which thermoplastic material received from the bottom of the melter kettle is transferred to the top of the melter kettle. The tube assembly comprises an odd number of tubes having augers therein. The tube assembly is coupled to a side portion of the melter kettle and located within a heat chamber through which hot combustion gases from a combustion chamber at the bottom of the melter kettle flow and transfer heat into the tube assembly. The heat chamber comprises an extended portion of a heat chamber that surrounds the melter kettle.

An apparatus for treating a disc-shaped article comprises a spin chuck and at least three individually controllable infrared heating elements. The infrared heating elements are mounted in a stationary manner with respect to rotation of said spin chuck. At least the transparent plate positioned between the infrared heating elements and the underside of a wafer is mounted for rotation with the spin chuck. Alternatively, the transparent plate is part of a housing that encloses the infrared heating elements and that rotates with the spin chuck as the heating elements are stationary relative thereto.

A processing apparatus for a thermal treatment of a workpiece is presented. The processing apparatus includes a processing chamber, a workpiece support disposed within the processing chamber, a rotation system configured to rotate the workpiece support, a gas delivery system configured to flow one or more process gases into the processing chamber from the a first side of the processing chamber, one or more gas exhaust ports for removing gas from the processing chamber such that a vacuum pressure can be maintained, one or more radiative heating sources disposed on the second side of the processing chamber, one or more dielectric windows disposed between the workpiece support and the one or more radiative heating sources, and a workpiece temperature measurement system configured at a temperature measurement wavelength range to obtain a measurement indicative of a temperature of a back side of the workpiece.

A processing apparatus for a thermal treatment of a workpiece is presented. The processing apparatus includes a processing chamber, a workpiece support disposed within the processing chamber, a rotation system configured to rotate the workpiece support, a gas delivery system configured to flow one or more process gases into the processing chamber from the a first side of the processing chamber, one or more gas exhaust ports for removing gas from the processing chamber such that a vacuum pressure can be maintained, one or more radiative heating sources disposed on the second side of the processing chamber, one or more dielectric windows disposed between the workpiece support and the one or more radiative heating sources, and a workpiece temperature measurement system configured at a temperature measurement wavelength range to obtain a measurement indicative of a temperature of a back side of the workpiece.