A first wall structure for a plasma chamber (200). The first wall structure comprises and inner wall (201) and a solid deposit (202). The inner wall is formed from a refractory metal or an alloy or composite thereof and has a plurality of pores. The solid deposit in thermal contact with the inner wall, such that the plurality of pores provide a passage from an exterior of the first wall structure to the deposit. The deposit consists of a material having a boiling point less than a melting point of the refractory metal. The first wall structure is configured such that at a normal operating temperature of the first wall structure, the deposit is solid.

Disclosed are a continuous heat treatment device and method for a sintered Nd—Fe—B magnet workpiece. The device comprises a first heat treatment chamber, a first cooling chamber, a second heat treatment chamber, and a second cooling chamber continuously disposed in sequence, as well as a transfer system disposed among the chambers to transfer the alloy workpiece or the metal workpiece; both the first cooling chamber and the second cooling chamber adopt a air cooling system, wherein a cooling air temperature of the first cooling chamber is 25° C. or above and differs from a heat treatment temperature of the first heat treatment chamber by at least 450° C.; a cooling air temperature of the second cooling chamber is 25° C. or above and differs from a heat treatment temperature of the second heat treatment chamber by at least 300° C. The continuous heat treatment device and method can improve the cooling rate and production efficiency and improve the properties and consistency of the products.

Disclosed are a device and method for continuously performing grain boundary diffusion and heat treatment, characterized in that the alloy workpiece or the metal workpiece are arranged in a relatively independent processing box together with a diffusion source; the device comprises, in successive arrangement, a grain boundary diffusion chamber, a first cooling chamber, a heat treatment chamber, and a second cooling chamber, and a transfer system provided between various chambers for delivering the processing box; each of the first cooling chamber and the second cooling chamber uses an air cooling system, and the cooling air temperature of the first cooling chamber is above 25° C. and at least differs by 550° C. from the grain boundary diffusion temperature of the grain boundary diffusion chamber; the cooling air temperature of the second cooling chamber is above 25° C. and at least differs by 300° C. from the heat treatment temperature of the heat treatment chamber; and the cooling chamber has a pressure of 50 kPa to 100 kPa. The device provided by the present invention can increase the cooling rate and production efficiency, and improve product consistency.

A vacuum pressure furnace and/or a cooling plate for a vacuum pressure furnace is described, having a cooling channel or tube that selectively circulates a liquid coolant at a reduced temperature. The cooling channel “snakes” back and forth through a target plate assembly to conduct heat from the target plate assembly and back to the coolant. The target plate assembly includes a plurality of clamp members that are screwed over portions of the cooling channel and to a bottom of a plate member of the assembly, enclosing portions of the cooling channel. Thermal sheets or foil are wrapped around the cooling channel, thereby bridging any gaps between the components that may occur during temperature changes due to thermal expansion/contraction.

Embodiments of the disclosure provide a system including: an enclosure having an interior sized to enclose and the workpiece and form a vacuum and pressurized atmosphere within the interior. A plurality of thermal applicators may be in thermal communication with first and second portions of the interior. First and second thermal applicators may independently heat and cool the first and second portions of the interior. The first thermal applicator may apply a first thermal treatment to a first portion of the workpiece in the first portion of the interior. A second thermal applicator may apply a second thermal treatment to a second portion of the workpiece in the second portion of the interior independently of the first thermal treatment.

An apparatus for separating and recovering the components of an alloy, particularly a noble alloy, including a high vacuum chamber housing at least one crucible for the alloy to be separated; at least one heating element arranged, during use, around the crucible; at least one condensation device, which faces, during use, an upper mouth of the crucible. The particularity of the present invention resides in that the condensation device includes at least one cold element and at least one deflector that is adapted to divert the flow of the aeriform substances derived from the melting and evaporation of the alloy toward the cold element. The invention also relates to a process for separating and recovering the components of an alloy, particularly a noble alloy.

A thermal treatment device includes a heating chamber which heats an object to be treated; and a moisture removal chamber which is provided adjacent to the heating chamber to put in and out of the object to be treated toward the heating chamber, and in which a vacuum atmosphere is created in the periphery of the object to be treated.

Systems and processes for use in heating articles include passing a carrier loaded with an article through a vessel inlet and into a first vessel portion and moving the loaded carrier in a first direction through the first vessel portion away from the inlet. During at least a portion of the movement through the first vessel portion, the article is contacted with a first fluid medium. The loaded carrier is moved carrier in a second direction opposite the first direction through a second vessel portion toward a vessel outlet. During at least a portion of the movement through the second vessel portion, the articles is contacted with a second fluid medium. In certain implementations, each of the first direction and the second direction are vertical.

A process for heating articles includes sequentially passing loaded carriers in a continuous manner through a first processing section and sequentially passing said plurality of loaded carriers in an incremental manner through a second processing section using an incremental convey segment. The incremental convey segment includes sequential carrier-receiving slots, each carrier-receiving slot configured to receive one of the loaded carriers. The incremental convey segment is further configured to be move incrementally at multiples of discrete intervals corresponding to the carrier-receiving slots. The process further includes sequentially passing the loaded carriers in a continuous manner through a third processing section and heating articles supported by the carriers with microwave energy in at least one of the processing sections, the heating of the articles occurring while the articles are at least partially submerged in a liquid bath and at an pressure greater than atmospheric pressure.

A process for heating articles in a heating system includes passing an article in a carrier through a heating chamber that is at least partially filled with a liquid medium to form a liquid bath. The process further includes heating the article in the carrier by at least partially submerging the article into the liquid bath during heating, the heating being performed, at least in part, using microwave energy. The process further includes one or more of adding fluid into and removing fluid from at least one location in the heating chamber to maintain a temperature profile across the heating chamber. In one implementation, the temperature of the liquid bath at an inlet area of the heating chamber is at least 10° C. cooler than a temperature of the liquid bath at an outlet area of the heating chamber.