A wafer boat handling device, configured to be positioned under a process chamber of a vertical batch furnace. The wafer boat handling device comprises a main housing having a wall defining and bounding a wafer boat handling space, and a boat transporter comprising a wafer boat support for supporting a wafer boat and configured to transport the wafer boat to a cooldown position within the wafer boat handling space. A part of the wall adjacent the cooldown position is a wall part with a heat radiation surface absorptance of at least 0.60 so as to withdraw heat from the wafer boat which is in the cooldown position by means of heat radiation absorption.

A method of producing steel by charging a furnace with scrap metal and agglomerated oxy-carbon material into a workspace of a furnace, to reduce specific electricity consumption when melting. Increasing the iron output quantity by inputting electric energy, fuel, a carburizer, a flux and gaseous oxygen, using electric arc melting with decarburization of a metal bath, and releasing metal and slag from the furnace. Prior to melting, a portion of the material is loaded with a first portion of the metal charge into the central zone of the furnace, and the remaining material into the melted charge during melting 0.5-10 kg/min per 1 megavolt-ampere of electric arc transformer power. The oxy-carbon material size is between 5 and 80 millimeters.

A steel sheet heating method that heats a steel sheet (K) to be pressed before hot press molding includes: bringing the steel sheet into a heating furnace (10) including a heater (15) on an inside surface of the heating furnace in a state where the steel sheet is supported in a vertical direction while an unnecessary portion of the steel sheet that becomes unnecessary after molding is fixedly supported by a support member (30); and performing heating at a prescribed temperature in the heating furnace, then taking the steel sheet out of the heating furnace, and after that cutting and removing the unnecessary portion before hot press molding or during hot press molding.

A heat treatment furnace and a method for heat treatment of a steel sheet blank is disclosed having at least one furnace chamber and a transport system for conveying the steel sheet blanks through the furnace chamber. A preheating chamber, a metallurgical bonding path and a cooling chamber, wherein the steel sheet blank can be heated in the preheating chamber to a temperature of above 200 C. A method for the production of a hot-formed and press-quenched motor-vehicle part is also disclosed.

A melting furnace feedstock charger includes a charger conduit including an inlet to receive feedstock and an outlet at an outlet portion of the charger conduit to transmit feedstock, and an auger or other feedstock mover coupled to the charger conduit to convey feedstock in a direction from the inlet toward the outlet. A gate may be detachably coupled to the outlet portion of the charger conduit and configured to be coupled directly to a wall of a melting vessel. The auger may have a helical flight with an outer diameter of varying size. A stripper may be movably carried by the charger conduit and may include a stripping tool moved by an actuator with respect to the charger conduit to facilitate transmission of feedstock and/or to strip away clogged feedstock and/or molten material.

Provided is a discharge device for a sintering furnace. The discharge device includes a material bin connected to a body of the sintering furnace, a conveying hopper, a first valve assembly, a first gas exchange assembly and a controller. The conveying hopper has a feed inlet, a discharge outlet and a first gas exchange port. The first valve assembly is located at the feed channel to control opening or closing of the feed channel. The first gas exchange assembly is connected to the first gas exchange port. The first gas exchange assembly outputs gas from the first gas exchange port and deliver protective gas into the conveying hopper. The controller is electrically connected to the first gas exchange assembly and the first valve assembly to control the first gas exchange assembly to be activated when the conveying hopper has completed conveying and the first valve assembly is closed.

A melting furnace feedstock charger includes a charger conduit including an inlet to receive feedstock and an outlet at an outlet portion of the charger conduit to transmit feedstock, and an auger or other feedstock mover coupled to the charger conduit to convey feedstock in a direction from the inlet toward the outlet. A gate may be detachably coupled to the outlet portion of the charger conduit and configured to be coupled directly to a wall of a melting vessel. The auger may have a helical flight with an outer diameter of varying size. A stripper may be movably carried by the charger conduit and may include a stripping tool moved by an actuator with respect to the charger conduit to facilitate transmission of feedstock and/or to strip away clogged feedstock and/or molten material.