Wisconsin Oven Corp., East Troy, reports that is has shipped a natural-gas-fired indexing conveyor oven to an automotive parts manufacturer in Canada to preheat aluminum billets prior to forging into automotive suspension components under high pressure. This forging process produces high-strength parts that are ideal for applications in which performance and safety are critical, but lighter-weight is needed for speed or energy efficiency.
The maximum operating temperature of this indexing conveyor oven is 1100°F, and the work chamber dimensions are 6.5 feet wide x 23.5 feet long x 1 foot high. The oven is designed with the capability to heat 1995 pounds of aluminum per hour and a production rate of 360 parts per hour. The equipment achieves temperature uniformity of +/-10°F at 1050°F for the last 90 index positions.
The conveyor oven body is constructed with Wisconsin Oven’s patented, high efficiency Expandable Surface design. This includes two inches of high-temperature block insulation backed with four inches of semi-rigid batt-type insulation. The oven has adjustable insulated profile doors at both ends above the conveyor, and four personal access plugs.
“This indexing oven utilizes a four-chain conveyor,” says Mike Grande, Sales Department. “Each chain has attachments that hold the cylindrical billets. They are carried through the oven in two rows, with two chains conveying each row of billets. The billets need to be forged while at a temperature of approximately 900°F, so a robot reaches into the oven exit and removes the billet from the conveyor before it has a chance to leave the oven and cool down.”-
The chain conveyor oven was fully factory tested and adjusted prior to shipment from our facility. All safety interlocks are checked for proper operation and the equipment is operated at the normal and maximum operating temperatures. An extensive quality assurance check list was completed to ensure the equipment met all Wisconsin Oven quality standards.
