Conveyor Pre-Heat Oven and Controls System for Power Line Products

Infrared Heating Technologies recently designed and manufactured a custom roller chain slat conveyor oven and control system for pre-heating thermoplastic solid round rods prior to forming. The formed thermoplastic products are spiral vibration dampeners for reducing Aeolian vibration on power lines.

The pre-heat systems consist of two (2) temperature control zones. Heating elements are electric resistive sheathed rod style with heaters located above and below the conveyor. Four (4) roof mounted axial mixing fans are included for convection heating and uniformity. All heater elements are accessible and easily changed from the outside of the oven. The oven includes several doors on both sides for easy access to the oven hearth. The conveyor oven also includes a dedicated heating compartment for batch heat processing of rods.

The conveyor pre-heat oven features a dual-roller chain slat conveyance system with V-groove attached slats for locating the solid round thermoplastic rods on fixed index spacings. The conveyor is adjustable and variable indexing to match the thermoplastic rod loading system. The dual roller chain slat conveyor features adjustable take-ups, synchro-hub sprockets, and an adjustable Teflon-block return rail system for precise alignment of the conveyor and reduced roller wear.

The pre-heat system is turn-key and includes a LOTO main breaker, SCR, temperature, FM-approved limit, fan motor, and conveyor motor speed, and conveyor indexing controls all housed in a stand-alone fan cooled NEMA 12 enclosure. An Allen Bradley ControlLogix PLC with touch screen HMI integrates all the controls into a simple part recipe format with both automatic and manual modes.