The SLK sinter hardening mesh belt furnace combines high temperature sintering with an accelerated cooling section so that powder metallurgy parts achieve martensitic, as sintered hardness directly out of the furnace, eliminating a separate quench step. A 450mm wide nickel chromium mesh belt carries the compacts through seven controlled heating zones to a working temperature of 1120C, followed by a high speed forced gas cooling zone that delivers controlled cooling rates