Continuous Process Oven

A high volume cake bakery wanted to improve quality by controlling the oven temperature more precisely, as well as reduce downtime due to hardware failures. A recipe based control system was developed where from one operator terminal, a recipe can be developed and stored which contains the bake time, 6 zone temperatures, and circulating fan speed settings. The control system consists of an Allen Bradley SLC-5/04 and Panelview operator interface. Recipes are developed by R&D personnel and password protected for selection by the oven operators. This allows more consistent baking of the product, with an improvement in productivity, reduction in scrap, and better customer satisfaction. The same technology is used on continuous process ovens in applications ranging from baking biscuits and cookies to curing the paint on appliances and automobiles.