Walking beam furnaces for high temperature sintering

The 'walking beam' is a method of transporting PM parts in a continuous manner through the high temperature zone of the sintering furnace. The authors discussed the construction and operation of walking beam sintering furnaces for the PM industry, the type of heating elements used, and PM products that are processed in this type of equipment. Higher temperatures often result in a more homogeneous structure in a PM component resulting in improved physical properties. Depending on furnace design, temperature capabilities of 3000F can be achieved in a walking beam furnace.