Rotary Hearth Sintering Furnace

Abstract

A rotary hearth sintering furnace composed of a debinding system, a part loading station, a rotary hearth furnace having multiple heating zones, an atmosphere system for maintaining certain atmospheres within different zones of the furnace, an unloader station and a cooling conveyor that are preferably controlled with a single programmable logic controller and operating station for sintering powder metal parts in a minimal amount of space.

1 . A rotary hearth sintering furnace for treating articles, comprising: 
 a. a hearth having a central axis, an inlet, an outlet, a plurality of heat zones, and a conveyor mounted for rotational movement about said central axis through all of said heat zones;    b. a load chamber positioned adjacent said inlet;    c. an unload chamber positioned adjacent said outlet;    d. a debind compartment positioned in communication with said load chamber; and    e. a cooling chamber positioned in communication with said unload chamber.    
   
   
       2 . The rotary hearth sintering furnace of  claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of ports spaced about and adapted to introduce a predetermined atmosphere into said hearth.  
   
   
       3 . The rotary hearth sintering furnace of  claim 1 , further comprising a water jacket positioned in proximity to said cooling chamber.  
   
   
       4 . The rotary hearth sintering furnace of  claim 1 , wherein said debind compartment includes a conveyor movable along a longitudinal axis that is adapted to carry the articles into said load chamber.  
   
   
       5 . The rotary hearth sintering furnace of  claim 1  wherein said cooling chamber includes a forced gas convection cooling system.