Continuous Conveyor Sand Core Drying Oven for a Turkish Foundry Line
A dual-belt tunnel drying oven solution requested for continuous sand core drying in a foundry production line, featuring natural gas heating, 4 heating zones, an additional cooling section, independent belt speed control, and PLC recipe management.
Project Introduction
A customer in Turkey was planning a continuous drying system for sand cores used in foundry production. The required equipment was not a batch oven or trolley oven,but a continuous-oven designed for three-shift operation and stable production flow.
The process required two conveyor belts, controlled belt speed, multiple heating zones, and a downstream cooling section. The customer also specified natural gas burners, circulating hot air, PLC control, touch screen operation, and recipe management for temperature, time, and residence time settings.
- Location: Turkey
- Industry: Foundry production
- Application: Sand core drying
- Oven Type: Disk-shaped sand cores and similar products
- Loading Design: Continuous conveyor tunnel drying oven
- Chamber Feature: Three-shift continuous operation
Main Challenge: The project required a long continuous drying chamber with two independently controlled conveyor belts, stable 160°C working temperature, fast heat-up performance, natural gas heating, recipe control, and enough engineering data for layout, capacity, gas consumption, electrical requirements, delivery time, and FOB quotation review.
Customer Technical Requirements
The customer clearly requested a continuous tunnel oven industrial conveyor oven instead of a batch-type oven.The main requirements were based on sand core and mold drying,controlled conveying speed, multi-zone heating, and a cooling section after the drying process.
| Drying Product | Sand cores, including disk-shaped sand cores and similar foundry products. |
|---|---|
| Production Mode | Three-shift continuous production operation. |
| Conveyor System | 2 conveyor belts, each with 700 mm belt width and independent variable frequency control. |
| Loading Height | Maximum loading height: 500 mm. |
| Belt Speed | Adjustable speed range: 0–2 m/min. |
| Heating Layout | 4 heating zones with an approximate total drying length of 20 meters. |
| Cooling Section | Additional cooling section of approximately 4 meters after heating. |
| Heating System | Natural gas burner heating with circulating hot air system. |
| Temperature Requirement | Working temperature: 160°C. Maximum temperature: 200°C. |
| Heat-Up Requirement | From ambient temperature to 160°C within approximately 15–20 minutes. |
| Control System | PLC control, touch screen HMI, recipe management for temperature, time, and residence time. |
| Recipe Storage | At least 10 sets of process recipes. |
ZonHoo Solution Direction
ZonHoo reviewed the project as a continuous conveyor tunnel drying oven for foundry sand cores. The proposed engineering direction was to divide the drying chamber into four heating zones, use natural gas burners with circulating hot air, and configure two independent conveyor belts so that each belt can be adjusted according to loading conditions and required residence time.
The system would combine drying length, belt speed, temperature setting, and product loading height into one production-oriented design. PLC and touch screen operation would allow operators to manage drying temperature, conveyor speed, residence time, alarms, and process recipes more conveniently during continuous foundry operation.
Loading
Sand cores enter through dual conveyor belts.
Zone 1
Initial heating and moisture removal.
Zone 2–4
Controlled hot-air drying across the tunnel.
Cooling
Approx. 4 m cooling section after drying.
Discharge
Dried sand cores leave for next process.
Design Focus
Dual-belt conveying, 4-zone heating, gas-fired hot-air circulation, 20 m drying length, 4 m cooling section, and stable operation for three-shift foundry production.
Control Focus
PLC + HMI control, independent VFD for each belt, recipe storage, temperature control, residence time adjustment, and production-friendly alarm management.
- Continuous tunnel drying oven layout for sand core production
- Independent variable frequency control for each belt
- 4 heating zones with approx. 20 m drying length
- Natural gas burner heating with circulating hot air
- Two conveyor belts with 700 mm width per belt
- Adjustable belt speed from 0–2 m/min
- Additional approx. 4 m cooling section
- PLC and touch screen interface for recipe control
Engineering Response Scope
For this type of project, the final technical proposal needs to be confirmed through engineering calculation and layout review. In addition to the oven structure, the customer requested key information for project comparison, including overall dimensions, heating zone quantity, gas consumption, electrical configuration, capacity explanation, delivery time, and FOB price.
ZonHoo’s engineering response would focus on converting the customer’s production requirements into a clear tunnel dryer specification. The final gas consumption, electrical load, capacity, and layout details should be calculated based on product weight, moisture content, loading density, ambient conditions, insulation design, and required residence time.
| Technical Proposal & Drawings | Preliminary equipment layout, tunnel structure, conveyor arrangement, heating zones, cooling section, and overall process flow. |
|---|---|
| Overall Dimensions | To be defined according to 20 m drying length, 4 m cooling section, conveyor layout, burner position, maintenance clearance, and site conditions. |
| Heating Zone Quantity | 4 heating zones as requested by the customer. |
| Natural Gas Consumption | To be calculated after confirming product load, moisture removal requirement, heat loss, operating schedule, and burner efficiency. |
| Electrical Requirements | PLC, HMI, conveyor drives, circulation fans, cooling fans, burner control system, safety devices, and auxiliary control power. |
| Capacity Explanation | To be calculated from belt width, belt speed, loading height, product spacing, drying residence time, and three-shift operation pattern. |
| Similar Project Reference | Related continuous drying oven and conveyor oven experience can be used as reference where applicable. |
| Delivery Time & FOB Price | To be confirmed after final technical scope, burner configuration, control brand, fabrication drawings, and export packaging requirements. |
Project Value
This project shows a typical foundry drying requirement where batch drying is not enough for the customer’s production rhythm. A continuous conveyor tunnel dryer can support more stable workflow, reduce manual batch handling, and make drying time easier to control through belt speed and zone temperature settings.
The key value of the solution is not only the heating chamber itself, but the full integration of conveyor speed, gas-fired hot-air circulation, multi-zone temperature control, cooling after drying, and PLC recipe management for repeatable foundry production.
Continuous Output
Sand cores enter through dual conveyor belts.
Controlled Drying
Initial heating and moisture removal.
Gas-Fired Efficiency
Controlled hot-air drying across the tunnel.
Project Images
