DAVRON TECHNOLOGIES INC. designed and manufactured a natural-gas-heated, indexing conveyor oven to cure disc brake pads. The compact DTI-1175 was developed for a Tier 1 automotive supplier, and features a heated entrance vestibule, a curing chamber, and a cooling chamber in a very small footprint that saves valuable manufacturing space in the plant.
Parts are conveyed through the oven in custom-designed product baskets provided with the oven. The parts are loaded in the baskets in a vertical orientation. Each basket includes dividers to maintain part segregation and allows for maximum air circulation to each part during the curing cycle. A completed basket exits the oven every 30 minutes.
The entry stage is heated by electric radiant panels. This vestibule provides the customer a single position for loading a basket immediately after the parts are pressed. The parts retain the heat absorbed while being pressed, reducing the natural gas required for the curing process.
The curing chamber features a single full-modulating natural gas burner and has three index positions. The curing chamber is able to operate in the 250-446°F range, and heated air impinges on the parts in a top-down pattern. Equipped with a modulating valve, the burner automatically adjusts using the minimal amount of natural gas required to maintain the desired temperature in the curing chamber. The cooling chamber is a single index position and utilizes ambient plant air that is impinged on the product in a top-down pattern.
Usable dimensions of the entire system are 2 ft. wide x 1 ft. high x 11 ft. 8 in. long. The conveying system features a 10ft. extension on both the entry and exit ends, for loading and unloading baskets.
The interior of the oven is made of 16-gauge aluminized steel backed by four inches of eight-pound density mineral wool insulation. The exterior is constructed of 16-gauge carbon steel backed by a structural steel frame and finished with high-temperature paint. The oven includes one access door located on the side of the heated chamber for cleaning and maintenance. Pneumatically operated vertical doors are featured on both the entrance and exit of the oven. The control system enables the doors to open automatically prior to the index motion and close immediately following the index motion of the conveyor.
Davron designed the DTI-1175 indexing conveyor oven according to three criteria provided by the customer: the production rate, the operating temperature and the available space in the plant for the system. Once the indexing conveyor oven was manufactured, Davron completed extensive acceptance testing and training with the customer, prior to delivery. Then, it was then prepared and packed for international shipment.
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