Abstract: A method of carburizing ferrous metal parts that includes the steps of providing a furnace for heating the metal parts and a process chamber, purging the air atmosphere from the process chamber and heating said process chamber to a temperature of at least 1100° F., feeding a gas to the process chamber and a source of air at a constant flow rate to the process chamber, boosting the process chamber by feeding an enriching gas to the process chamber to create a carbon potential of at least 0.5%, and more preferably of at least 1.4%, cleaning the process chamber by decreasing the flow of enriching gas to the process chamber to create a carbon potential of less than about 0.25%, repeating the boosting step after performing said cleaning step, and repeating the cleaning step after performing said boosting step.

Abstract: A method of carburizing ferrous metal parts that includes the steps of providing a furnace for heating the metal parts and a process chamber, purging the air atmosphere from the process chamber and heating said process chamber to a temperature of at least 1100° F., feeding a gas to the process chamber and a source of air at a constant flow rate to the process chamber, boosting the process chamber by feeding an enriching gas to the process chamber to create a carbon potential of at least 0.5%, and more preferably of at least 1.4%, cleaning the process chamber by decreasing the flow of enriching gas to the process chamber to create a carbon potential of less than about 0.25%, repeating the boosting step after performing said cleaning step, and repeating the cleaning step after performing said boosting step.

Abstract: The present invention provides a new and improved apparatus and method of carburizing ferrous metal parts. In one embodiment of the invention the apparatus comprises a radiant heater tube within which a source of hydrocarbon fuel is fully combusted, and a generator tube surrounding and forming a cavity around at least a portion of the radiant heater tube. The generator tube includes an input for air and enriching gas and an output to the process chamber of the furnace. The enriching gas is partially combusted or decomposed in the generator tube. This partially combusted gas is utilized to produce a carburizing gas for use in the process chamber of the furnace.

Abstract: The present invention provides a new and improved method of carburizing ferrous metal parts. In one embodiment the invention comprises the steps of heating the process chamber of a furnace to a temperature in excess of about 1100.degree. F., charging such parts to be carburized into the process chamber of the furnace, providing a carrier gas and feeding such carrier gas into the process chamber so as to provide a furnace atmosphere in the process chamber having a carbon potential of at least about 0.5%, providing a source of air and feeding such air to the process chamber so as to raise the carbon potential of the furnace atmosphere by at least 0.1%, and discharging the parts from the furnace. An enriching gas is fed into the process chamber along with the air. The enriching gas is a carbon (C) containing gas that may be decomposed to provide a source of free carbon (C).