Combination conduction/convection furnace

摘要

A single furnace system integrates, in combination, two or more distinct heating environments (which in the preferred embodiments include a conduction heating environment and a convection heating environment) integrated such that the multiple environments define a continuous heating chamber through which a moving workpiece (such as a casting) transitions from one heating environment to the other without being exposed to the atmosphere. In accordance with the preferred methods, the transitioning of the casting from one environment to the other is accomplished with no meaningful change in temperature.