Non-precious metal furnace with inert gas firing

Abstract

A furnace for firing a non-precious metal paste including organic material, comprising a furnace enclosure, tube-like in shape, having a definable length. First and second ends of the furnace enclosure is open forming an entrance and exit, respectively. A cross-section across the length of the furnace enclosure has a flat base, a first and second vertical wall at each end of the flat base, and a roof, the shape of the roof being essentially the upper half of an ellipse. The interior chamber of the furnace is divided across the length of the furnace enclosure into a burnout zone and a firing zone, the entrance leading to the burnout zone, and the exit being nearest the firing zone. A sparging element distributes a mixture of an inert gas and at least one other gas within the burnout zone, wherein the other gas supports burnout of the organic material. A distributing element inserts an inert gas in the firing zone in the interior chamber of the furnace such that the non-precious metal is sintered in an inert atmosphere. A barrier element, providing a barrier such that the gas mixture of the burnout zone and the inert gas and the firing zone, are separated, thereby dividing the interior chamber of the furnace into the burnout zone and the firing zone. An exhaust means in the burnout zone where most smoke is produced as a result of the burnout of the organic material.