J.L. Becker Co. recently installed a 20,000-pound/hour roller-hearth annealing furnace line for an Ohio-based manufacturer. The furnace processes ⅝-inch to 6 ⅝-inch OD tubing in lengths ranging from 10 to 40 feet. The furnace line is approximately 7 feet wide inside x 315 feet in overall length, including a 60-foot-long heating section, a 100-foot-long cooling section, and load and unload tables. A J. L. Becker 30,000-CFH exothermic gas generator with “auto start,” variable output and automatic turndown provides the furnace atmosphere.

The water cooling system, which consists of a cooling-water tank, plate and frame heat exchanger, cooling tower and pumps, was provided to cool and circulate the water through the cooling sections. A 300-kW natural-gas-fired standby generator with an automatic transfer switch was provided to keep the system running in the case of a power failure. The line is controlled by a J.L. Becker computer management system (CMS), which monitors and displays alarm conditions, calculates furnace downtime and measures gaps for production changeovers.