Roller Conveyor Oven

This is an indirectly heated (usually by radiant tubes or, less commonly, by electricity), high-output tunnel oven that is designed for continuous operation and fitted with a roller conveyor to move charges through the various temperature (heating, holding and cooling) zones in line. It is equally suitable for heat-treating large-size products (e.g. rolled round or rectangular bars from steel mills) or smaller products on trays (wire coils, strip coils and shaped pieces) or small shaped pieces in baskets (e.g. bearing rings).

Suitable where products are handled in batches or stacks in continuous production. A roller conveyor oven is particularly practical where heat treatment needs to be fitted as one of a series of different processes in a production line. Although similar to a push-through oven in terms of capacity and productivity, it has a much more sophisticated mechanical design and, as such, costs more to make and install. Its benefit is that, in contrast with the push-through type, the products from the oven can be directly passed onto an adjacent conveyor system.

Process objective, heat treating temperature and temperature accuracy, a time/temperature curve of the heat treating process, dimensions and weight of products, method of loading and unloading, the equipment required for loading and unloading, protective atmosphere requirements, heat treatment capacity requirement (kg/h), oven operating hours, heating method requirements (gas or electrical), etc.