The three-metre long ROLLMOD test hearth is divided into three heating zones and permits a maximum temperature of 1,250° C to be achieved. The gastight roller hearth is heated with ceramic recuperation burners installed in ceramic radiator pipes. Cracked gas comprising CO2 / CH4 for carbonization and NH3 as the source of nitrogen and propane for enriching the atmosphere are available as inert gases. The hearth may also be operated with endogas made from natural gas / air and with various forming gases from bottles. The hearth atmosphere is controlled via an oxygen sensor.
Quenching is achieved with the high-speed application of cooling air using the GASoFORM® principle or alternatively with a salt-and-oil bath. The fact that the modules are driven by stepper motors means that treatment times ranging from a minimum of two minutes to a maximum of two hours may be realized. It is possible to move the parts quickly (250 mm/s) or at the speed of the hearth into the quenching unit from the end of the hearth. Various types of measuring equipment and interfaces may be used for different process analyses. The test runs deliver all the relevant parameters and data so that the system solutions appropriate to the individual customers' needs may determined and configured.