Rotary retort furnace

A continuous rotary retort furnace for heat treating of metallic parts comprising:

• an outer shell having first and second ends;
• a retort assembly extending through openings in said first and second ends;
• support means for supporting said retort assembly at both ends external of said shell;
• said retort assembly being formed of an axial member and a spirally-wound conduit disposed on the exterior surface of said axial member;
• said spirally-wound conduit including a plurality of hollow spiral revolution sections for conveying progressively parts to be heated through the furnace, one end of said conduit being connected to said axial member via a first charge chute, the other end of said conduit being connected to said axial member via a first discharge chute;
• said support means including a first bearing secured fixedly to said axial member adjacent said first end for supporting said axial member in a fixed location and a second bearing positioned to support said axial member adjacent said second end to permit thermal growth of said axial member;
• a fluidizable bed media for assisting in supporting of said retort assembly throughout its entire length, said spirally-wound conduit being immersed in said fluidizable bed media throughout its length to obtain a constant temperature;
• drive means including a hydraulic motor and a gear reduction mechanism coupled to said support means adjacent to said first end for rotating of said retort assembly;
• means for loading and unloading of the parts to be heat treated into the spiral conduit of said retort assembly;
• and
• said means for loading and unloading including an angled slide charge chute for delivering the parts into a first turn of the spiral conduit via said first charge chute and an angled slide discharge chute for delivering the parts from a last turn of the spiral conduit via said first discharge chute.

A continuous rotary furnace comprising:

• an outer shell having first and second ends;
• a retort assembly extending through openings in said first and second ends;
• support means for supporting said retort assembly at both ends external of said shell;
• said retort assembly being formed of axial member and a spirally-wound conduit disposed on the exterior surface of said axial member;
• drive means coupled to said support means adjacent said first end for rotating of said retort assembly;
• means for loading and unloading of the parts to be heat treated into the spiral conduit of said retort assembly;
• and
• said means for loading and unloading including a charge/discharge assembly housed within said axial member and being formed of a charge container and a discharge container connected to said charge container by a rod.