A cooling device configured to cool an article to be processed by spraying a coolant includes a cooling chamber configured to accommodate the article to be processed, a header pipe having a connecting pipe protruding from a main body section to which a nozzle is attached and into which the coolant supplied into the main body section is supplied, and disposed in the cooling chamber, and an attachment section formed at the cooling chamber and into which the connecting pipe is inserted from an inside of the cooling chamber to an outside of the cooling 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.