The ModulTherm(r) linked multichamber vacuum furnace system is said to provide a competitive advantage in annealing, vacuum carburizing with propane or acetylene, high-pressure gas quenching up to 20 bar using nitrogen or helium, and hardening and tempering. The quenching and transfer chambers are integrated into a rail-mounted shuttle module that can service 2, 4, 6 or 8 independent vacuum chambers. The ModulTherm system can easily be expanded, integrated into a single materials handling and into just-in-time production scheduling. Available convective heating and reversed gas quench flow achieves less distortion and more uniform hardness. (www.afc-holcroft.com)