An apparatus feeds raw material bars to a furnace body of a melting furnace, and includes an enclosure body provided with a vertical feed passage to be disposed above an open top side of the furnace body. A feeding unit includes a push mechanism extending into an upper part of the feed passage, and a material retarder extending into a lower part of the feed passage. A transferring unit transfers a raw material bar to the feed passage in a manner that the raw material bar extends vertically in the feed passage. The push mechanism pushes the raw material bar in the feed passage downwardly, and the material retarder retards downward movement of the raw material bar out of the feed passage and into the furnace body.

The clamp apparatus of the present disclosure includes a clamp member configured to contact a substrate accommodating container from an upper side and fix the substrate accommodating container to a predetermined position when a cover provided on a front surface of the substrate accommodating container is opened/closed, a driving mechanism configured to drive the clamp member; a casing configured to cover the driving mechanism, a suction port configured to communicate with the casing, an exhaust chamber provided near the casing, and a fan provided inside the exhaust chamber.

A method and apparatus for treating a workpiece such as a mold grid includes moving the workpiece laterally along a conveyor assembly into a furnace for heating in a carbon-rich atmosphere to form a heated workpiece. The heated workpiece is then received from the furnace onto the conveyor assembly in an enclosed vestibule whereupon it is clamped under pressure between an overhead mechanical press and the conveyor assembly to form a clamped assembly. The clamped assembly, including a portion of the conveyor, is then lowered into a quenching bath via an elevator assembly until the heated workpiece is quenched, whereupon the clamped assembly is raised out of the bath and the clamping force released. This clamping during quenching acts to maintain the workpiece in a planar orientation while reducing warpage during the quenching process.