We designed a new drying system for Corning to address inefficiencies in Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) production. DPFs are ceramic filters that trap harmful pollutants from diesel engine exhaust. These cylindrical components contain numerous small channels plugged in a checkerboard pattern with cement, allowing air to pass while capturing soot and unburnt fuel. Before packaging, the cement plugs required drying to prevent mold growth. Corning’s existing conveyor-based pizza-style oven limits production to approximately 60 parts per hour, creating a bottleneck in their manufacturing process.
We developed a system that uses heating and suction fans to push and pull warm air through the DPFs. As filters move along the conveyor belt, they stop at set positions that align with heating and suction fan funnels, enabling uniform drying across each part. Halfway through the process, the heating and suction fans switch sides to ensure even drying on both sides of each filter.
We designed the system to be adjustable to accommodate different sized DPFs. By shortening the drying time, our system aims to increase production from 60 parts per hour to at least 140 parts per hour, improving overall process efficiency. The solution is also scalable, allowing Corning to expand capacity to dry larger volumes of parts as production demands increase.