Some specifications are very challenging for our developers. This is especially true of a current project for Johnson Matthey.

The project involves the development, design and manufacture of calcining ovens up to over 600 °C for the production of ceramic honeycomb bodies, as used in the production of catalytic converters.

Cycles and guaranteed tightness

The ovens are part of a production expansion. Two requirements on the plants make the project a very special one. On the one hand, the temperature is above 600 °C. On the other hand, the chambers must be absolutely gas-tight because of the atmosphere inside the ovens. However, the application is only really complicated by the maximum number of permitted cycles (heating to maximum temperature and cooling to ambient temperature), according to which the chambers must still be guaranteed gas tight.

Housing and doors

In addition to many small special solutions, the main focus was on the housing and the sealing of the doors. It can be imagined that with thousands of cycles at such high temperatures and with gas tightness, very special requirements apply to the structure of the housing and the welds. Static calculations and simulations have resulted in a housing shape which allows only minimal distortions. The doors were equipped with a gas barrier seal, which is also cooled by individual water coolers.

This brief description can only indicate the complexity of the project. Contact us if you have similar applications.