METHOD & APPARATUS FOR HOLDING A WORK PIECE IN A PARTICLE BED

摘要

The present invention relates to a method of holding a drill blank in an upright position by inserting it into a particle bed. The particle bed holds the drill blank in the desired orientation without any further supporting means. The particle bed is part of a universal jig that also includes a container to contain the particle bed. The universal jig can be traversed through a furnace so that the exposed upper part of the drill blank is subjected to heat treatment but the submerged lower part is shielded from the thermal radiation by the particle bed to prevent heat treatment.