A Belco log furnace on the shop floor, with its combustion blowers, controls cabinet and infeed conveyor.

Extrusion Systems

Log/Billet Furnace

The Belco Log Furnace is a direct flame impingement-style aluminum-heating furnace designed to work in conjunction with the Belco Hot Log Saw to provide precisely heated sawed billets to the extrusion press.

Log or billet furnace

Logs are placed on the log storage table by the operator and then automatically deposited onto the furnace infeed pusher. The logs are pushed through the preheat section of the furnace and into the direct fired heat zones for final heating. When the extrusion press makes a call for a billet, the furnace door opens, the hot log is precisely located in the saw, the saw cycles and sends the hot billet to the press and the remainder of the log is pushed back into the furnace.

An aluminum log on the yellow infeed conveyor, travelling into a Belco log furnace.

Potential energy efficiencies of 55% or more are achievable.

  • The furnace accommodates either billets or logs fed to the preheat section of the furnace via an automatic loader.
  • The furnace has two sections; a preheat section that efficiently warms incoming logs with excess heat captured from the flame-impingement area and a firing chamber featuring a state-of-the-art combustion system that helps maximize heating efficiencies.
  • PLC controls monitor the complete furnace operation.
The long preheat section of a Belco log furnace under construction in Belding, Michigan.

Log/billet furnace FAQs

How does the Belco log furnace work with the hot log saw?

Logs are placed on the log storage table by the operator and deposited onto the furnace infeed pusher, then pushed through the preheat section into the direct fired heat zones for final heating. When the extrusion press calls for a billet the furnace door opens, the hot log is precisely located in the saw, the saw cycles and sends the billet to the press, and the remainder of the log is pushed back into the furnace.

What energy efficiency can a Belco log furnace reach?

Potential energy efficiencies of 55% or more are achievable.

Can the furnace run pre-cut billets as well as full logs?

Yes. The furnace accommodates either billets or logs, fed to the preheat section via an automatic loader.

Why does the furnace have two sections?

The preheat section warms incoming logs using excess heat captured from the flame-impingement area, and the firing chamber carries the combustion system that maximizes heating efficiency. Recovering that heat rather than exhausting it is where much of the efficiency comes from.

How is the furnace controlled?

PLC controls monitor the complete furnace operation.

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