A furnace as described in this invention comprises a temperature regulating portion to assist in melting a non-ferrous material, such as an aluminium, and to reserve said material for the subsequent casting or injection molding procedure. The furnace provides a mean to eliminate an oxide, such as iron oxide, which generally floats on the top layer of a molten material inside a melting portion and a heating portion by preventing the flow of said oxide into the temperature regulating portion. A sensor or any detector that can detect the level of the molten material is utilized to measure the surface level of said molten material. A temperature regulating burner, which is a flat flame type, is utilized on the ceiling of the temperature regulating portion in order to prevent any oxidation reaction to occur as well as to reduce the concentration of oxygen inside the portion.

The invention relates to a process chamber (10) for carrying out thermal processes in the manufacture of an electronic assembly (30), comprising the following: at least one opening (20) for introducing and/or removing the electronic assembly (30); a device (40) for supplying a gas; a controllable protection device (50) which is arranged on the opening (20) in order to reduce a leakage of gas from the process chamber, wherein the controllable protection device (50) comprises a first movable element (50A) as an integral piece which covers the width between the total width of the opening and the width of the electronic assembly; a device for detecting data relating to the dimensions of the electronic assembly (30); and a controller (60) which can control the protection device (50) on the basis of the data relating to the dimensions of the electronic assembly (30) such that when the electronic assembly (30) passes through the opening (20), a defined spacing is constantly maintained between the electronic assembly and the first movable element (50A).

A blast furnace slag level estimation method and blast furnace slag level estimation apparatus can estimate the liquid level of slag to a high degree of accuracy. An operation guidance method, method of producing hot metal, and operation guidance apparatus also provide guidance for the operation of a blast furnace based on a highly accurately estimated liquid level of slag. The blast furnace slag level estimation method includes a step (S2) of calculating a liquid level of melt containing slag for each region in a plurality of regions separated by a low permeability zone, using a physical model that takes at least one of hot metal tapping rate, slag tapping rate, hot metal production rate, and slag production rate as an input and that is based on a mass balance assuming existence of the low permeability zone with poor permeation of slag at a bottom of a furnace.

Provided are a method and an arrangement for measurement of electrode paste in an electrode column of an electric arc furnace. The electrode column comprises a steel casing surrounding the electrode paste and said electrode column is provided with a contact shoe ring to conduct electric current to the electrode. The electrode column is filled with electrode paste. The electrode paste evolves through different phases, from raw paste in the upper part of the steel casing to melted paste and further to baked paste in the lower part of the electrode column. The level of the raw paste is determined with a first laser device and the level of the molten paste is determined with a second laser device. The data received from the laser devices is used for calculation of the distances of the levels of the raw paste and molten paste from the contact shoe ring.

The present invention relates to a furnace, in particular a continuous furnace, for controlling a temperature of at least one substrate. A housing of the furnace comprises an intake opening and an outtake opening, wherein between the intake opening and the outtake opening a temperature-controlled section is formed. A carrier element for carrying the at least one substrate is movable along a transport direction through the intake opening into the temperature-controlled section and from the temperature-controlled section through the outtake opening. A temperature controlling element is thermally coupled to the temperature-controlled section for controlling the temperature of the temperature-controlled section. The temperature-controlled section comprises a gas inlet through which a gas is blowable for controlling the temperature of the temperature-controlled section.

An electrically controlled valve which can be operated using a programable controller. A cooperating pair of the electrically controlled valves can be used in a Regenerative Thermal Oxidizer (RTO). The electrically controlled valve has two seats, and a blade which can move between a first position contacting the first seat and a second position contacting the second seat. The blade is moved by an actuator which is controlled by a variable frequency drive (VFD). A control computer continuously monitors the operation of both valves and halts operation of the system upon detecting a fault (error). The motion of the blade is programmed such that force of impact on the seat is reduced. Once the blade is seated, a brake is engaged which maintains the stationary position while utilizing relatively low power.

A process and apparatus for controlling the strip run (4) of a metal strip (10) through a floating furnace (3). The strip run (4) is controlled contact-free with the aid of an electromagnetic device (1) that generates a Lorentz force acting transversely to the strip run.

A dental furnace (100) for sintering dental objects, having a detection device (103) for detecting a dimension of a sintered reference body (105) and a parameter determination device (107) for determining a process parameter for a sintering process on the basis of the detected dimension.

An electric furnace equipment including: a body part having an inner space capable of processing a raw material; an electrode part installed to be inserted into the inner space of the body part; an input part installed in the body part to be capable of inputting the raw material to the inner space of the body part; and a photographing part installed in the body part to be capable of photographing the area around the electrode part in the inner space of the body part; and an input control part which detects a spacing distance (D.sub.m) between the electrode part and a raw material stack formed by the raw material stacked around the electrode part by using a photograph image acquired by the photographing part and controls an input of the raw material input to the body part from the input part according to the detected spacing distance (D.sub.m).

The present disclosure discloses a reflow oven for processing a circuit board, the reflow oven comprising a heating zone having a plurality of heating sub-zones, in which the plurality of heating devices are arranged in corresponding heating sub-zones of the plurality of heating sub-zones, and each of the plurality of heating devices is configured such that a working temperature of the corresponding heating sub-zone is in a predetermined temperature interval; a start-stop device configured to activate or deactivate the plurality of heating devices, and configured to activate and deactivate the plurality of heating devices according to predetermined time intervals in a process during which the circuit board sequentially passes through the plurality of heating sub-zones, such that a working temperature of each of the plurality of heating sub-zones is in a corresponding predetermined temperature interval.