Sintering furnace

A sintering furnace for sintering dental workpieces, the sintering furnace comprises:

• a heating element having a receiving space for accommodating the workpiece during sintering, the receiving space is formed by a subregion of an interior space in an interior of the heating element;
• the heating element comprises silicon carbide;
• the heating element is at least in regions configured as slotted tube and a slot in the tube forming the heating element has a helical configuration in a heating region in which the heating element surrounds the receiving space;
• the heating element has an introduction opening configured for introducing the workpiece to be sintered into the receiving space, and the introduction opening is closeable by a linearly movably mounted furnace door that is linearly moveable in a horizontal direction between an open position and a closed position;
• a workpiece carrier fixed in a cantilever arrangement to the furnace door for movement together therewith, and the workpiece to be sintered is adapted to be introduced resting on the workpiece carrier into the receiving space and is adapted to be supported on the workpiece carrier during a sintering operation;
• and
• the slotted tube of the heating element is arranged with a horizontally extending longitudinal axis in an operating position of the sintering furnace;
• wherein the workpiece is placeable on the workpiece carrier in the open position and is horizontally moveable with the door as the door moves to the closed position to a center area of the receiving space within the heating element;
• and
• wherein heating element comprises a connecting region in addition to the heating region, and a ratio of a longitudinal extension of the heating region in the longitudinal direction of the heating element to a longitudinal extension of the connecting region is from 1:2 to 1:4.