Abstract: A roller dryer for clay pipe comprised of a support means for transporting pipe through a tunnel dryer and roller carriage means for rotating the pipe to achieve uniform drying thereof. The roller dryer can accommodate pipes of different lengths and diameters while maintaining the lineality and concentricity of the pipe sections.

Abstract: A furnace work supporting roll and a spare work roll are mounted on a frame in diametrically opposed positions with the spare roll normally out of the furnace. The frame is mounted on an axis parallel to the roll axis and equal distance therefrom. A water cooled shield is mounted on the frame between the rolls to protect the spare roll from the heat of the furnace and has an outer surface with a diameter equal to that between the outside of the rolls. To inspect and/or remove the work roll from the furnace, the frame is rotated so that the position of the rolls are reversed. A water cooled heat shield is provided at the ends of the diameter perpendicular to the diameter through the roll axes at a distance equal to that between the outside of the rolls. A roll supporting table beneath the position of the spare roll is movable toward and away from the frame.

Abstract: A support means for the ceramic rolls of the roller hearth in a kiln. A means of support is provided for the roller hearth which can withstand the high temperatures and loadings of the kiln.

Abstract: The present invention regards an automatic plant to perform continuously and with high yields on an industrial scale, the drying and single-phase firing operations on ceramic tiles used for wall-lining and floor-lining, which comprises an assembly of the type commonly called "tunnel kiln", along the length of which the semifinished products to be treated travel, and is associated with suitable heat sources, so as to establish in the environment defined by the tunnel or gallery of the kiln, the thermal conditions necessary for the development and completion of firing of the tile body as well as of the surface layer of the glaze.

Abstract: A preheating system for an aluminum remelt furnace, the preheating system extracting hot flue gases from the melting furnace and passing them through cartridges specially designed to hold various forms of aluminum stock in a manner permitting effective transfer of heat from the flue gas.

Abstract: A cooled furnace transport roller comprises a hollow cylindrical roller having an intermediate furnace space portion which is adapted to be positioned in a furnace and with a stub shaft portion adjacent each end which is supported on bearing means located exteriorly of the furnace. A hollow interior tube is located on the interior of the cylindrical roller and is spaced inwardly therefrom and it defines a space between its exterior and the interior of the hollow cylindrical roller for the flow of a coolant gas which is returned through openings of the hollow interior tube and through the interior thereof. A tubular wire net cooling insert is located in the space between the hollow interior tube and the cylindrical roller interior and it is formed with a wire mesh having good heat resistance and good heat conductivity.

Abstract: Continuous casting plant rollers or rolls of small diameter are provided great longitudinal extension, which longitudinal extension exceeds the width of the continuously cast strand. The rollers or rolls have annular recesses distributed over their longitudinal extension, thus forming substantially cylindrical bearing pins to be received in bearings, preferably slide bearings, whose bearing height, measured from the bearing center toward the strand skin, is smaller than the radius of the rollers or rolls. The rollers or rolls may advantageously be composed of a plurality of individual roller or roll bodies held together by at least one bracing anchor. Preferably, the rollers or rolls are provided with internal cooling.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for automatically replacing damaged conveyor grates which can be remotely controlled. The apparatus is disposed slightly above the empty, return side of the conveyor at the cool end, and performs its function in this maintenance area. The apparatus employs a plurality of working heads which remove the damaged grate and replace it with a new grate without interrupting conveyor motion. The working heads are suspended above the conveyor in the maintenance area by a plurality of carriages which permit the working heads to access any grate within the maintenance area. The carriages also allow the working heads to move with the conveyor during the grate replacement cycle. Although the manipulation of these heads and carriages is largely automatic, the operator can initiate, direct and observe the apparatus' movements from a remote station thereby isolating him from a hazardous environment.