As the world’s largest manufacturer of solidand perforated bake oven steel belts, wedesign and supply versatile, efficient anddurable conveying solutions to oven builders
and end users, and support them througha global service network.
ipco.com----BAKE---OVEN--------------BELTS-----FOR-----------HIGH----QUALITY-----------------BAKING---------

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----–--WORLD LEADERS
IN SOLID AND PERFORATED
BAKE OVEN BELTS
We are the world’s largest manufacturer of solid and perforatedsteel bake oven belts, supplying oven builders and end users
around the world.

Bake oven belts have to be able to withstandextraordinary stresses. They are tensioned,
tracked, heated up, cooled down, and turned
around rollers thousands of times a day. And
every single steel belt includes a welded jointthat has to be just as capable of withstanding
this treatment as the belt material itself.
We have the technical knowledge and engineer­ing skills to supply the best possible solution forany bakery application, from initial design andsteel grade selection, through the manufacturing
process, to installation and service.

For some customers, we simply supply the steelbelt; for others we deliver a complete conveyor
package including roller drums, skid bars andtracking solutions.

Whatever you’re looking to achieve, whatever
the challenge, we can manufacture, supply,
install and service the steel belt product that’s
right for your needs.

A solid steel belt delivers the crisp base essential toproducts such as American-style butter-based cookies– a fact that has driven increasing demand for thishighly versatile conveying medium.

We work hand in hand withoven builders to ensure thebest possible solution for newmachines, replacement belts
or oven upgrades.

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IPCO bake oven belts – durable, versatileand efficient
The unique benefits of a steel bake oven belt lie in its physicalform: no other material can compete when it comes to a steel
belt’s baking qualities. Not only does it deliver reliable operationin applications where temperatures can reach as high as 400 ºC,
but it does so with outstanding reliability.
At IPCO, the world’s No.1 supplier of steel belts
to the food industry, we offer a range of highperformance steel grades and belt sizes – from
800 mm to extra-wide 3 500 mm conveyors –to meet different the production requirements
of products as varied as:• Bread (part baked)• Biscuits• Brownies• Choux pastry• Cookies• Crackers/crispbread• Gingerbread• Granola bars
• Meringue• Macaroons• Patisserie• Pies• Sponge cake• Pan pizzas

Exceptional baking performance
Solid steel bake oven belts deliver exceptional
performance in terms of bake quality. Much ofthis is due to the excellent heat transfer andthermal conductivity of the belt, but its stability
is also key: a solid or perforated steel belt keeps
its shape and stays flat as it passes through theintense heat of the oven, resulting in consistentproduct quality. A flat, smooth surface also
ensures easy discharge.

Long life, low maintenanceGood tension and tracking characteristics –and resistance to stretching too – result in low
maintenance requirements. And exceptional
durability means a working life of 20+ years is
far from unusual.

This weight advantage also means less energy
is needed to ‘drive’ the belt through the oven.

IPCO bake oven belts can be suppliedin widths from 800 to 3 500 mm, andin virtually any length.

4Energy efficient baking
Solid steel belts are lighter than wire mesh –perforated steel belts lighter still – so cost up to
30% less to heat. Each time the belt exits thebaking chamber, it begins to cool and has to beheated up again so the savings are continuous.
As much of 25% of an oven’s energy consumption
is needed to heat the belt, so the savings canbe considerable.

Hygienic and easy to clean
As a conveying medium that’s completely flatand smooth, a solid steel belt has the majoradvantage of having no gaps, recesses orcrevices in which carbon deposits could collect.
And this flatness also means that cleaning
operations are simpler, faster and therefore
more economical than for other materials.

Wide belts for maximum productivity
Our ability to produce belts in widths from 800
mm to 3 500 mm makes it possible to achievesignificant improvements in productivity without
having to invest in factory extensions or newfacilities. An oven with a 1 500 mm wide beltoffers almost twice the productivity of one withan 800 mm belt without any increase in the linelength. Upgrade to an oven with a 3 200mm
belt or larger and throughput is increased by afactor of four.
The benefits of IPCO steel belts• A working life of 20+ years is not unusual.
• Excellent product support for a wide range of
baked products – biscuits, pastries, sponges
and bread.
• Hard smooth surface for clean productrelease.
• Hygienic and more easily cleaned than wire
mesh belts means less down time.
• Excellent heat transfer.
• Excellent thermal conductivity for goodbaking performance and consistent productquality.
• Faster belt speeds increase production output.
• No stretching, good tension and tracking
characteristics mean lower maintenance vswire mesh belts.
• Less energy needed than heavier wire meshbelts, lowering production costs.
• Easy cleaning for minimal downtime.
• Wide belts up to 3 500 mm for maximum
productivity.

World-class manufacturing capability
IPCO steel belts are the result of more than 100years’ manufacturing experience. Every bakeoven belt is manufactured to precise specifications to ensure that it delivers the performance,durability and reliability of service associatedwith our name.
We produce belts of all sizes in different grades
to suit different processes. They can be suppliedin carbon or stainless steel, and in either solidor perforated form, depending on the needs ofthe product to be processed. We work continuously to improve the tolerances we can offer –thickness deviation, flatness and straightness– and our ability to meet demanding delivery
schedules.
Quality and environmental management
We aim to consistently meet customer expectations and requirements for all products andservices, and to minimize our impact on theenvironment. We do this by implementing stringent quality controls throughout the manufacturing process, from selection of raw materials,
through production systems and technologies,
to rigorous checking of the final product. We
are certified to ISO 9001, ISO 14001 andOHSAS 18001.

5Steel bake oven belts or complete
conveyor systems
Our experience in designing and installing steel
belt-based conveying systems means we canprovide the precise level of service required,from belt-only to system design and provision of
all ancillary equipment including:

Conveyor skid bars
Special cast iron skid bars that support the bakeoven belt. For optimum belt performance andreliability, we recommend that a minimum of
10% of the skid bars should be graphite.

Conveyor end stations
A full range of components including bearings,
conveyor break points, drive and tension shafts
up to 1 500 mm, and sheaves for short or low
loaded conveyors.

Conveyor tracking solutions
We offer a range of active and passive beltalignment solutions including belt edge
detectors, guide rollers and compact/automatic
tracking devices.

Global service for reliable installationand support
We understand the importance of maximizing productivity by ensuringthat downtime is kept to the absolute minimum, and we can help you
achieve this through a combination of planned maintenance and fast
efficient repairs.

Choose IPCO as your belt partner and you benefit from a technical service organisation thatcovers the world and is geared up to deliveringa prompt response wherever and wheneverit’s needed.
Our engineers have a wealth of experience insupporting the bakery industry so whatever yourrequirement – a new installation, an upgrade
to an existing facility or simply a replacement
belt – we can help. Similarly, if you’re a bakeoven manufacturer looking to develop a newbake oven system, our help and advice is readily
available.
• Worldwide service capability.
• New installations and belt replacements.
• Upgrades from wire mesh to solid orperforated belts.
• Consultancy on all aspects of bake ovenbelt design.
• Preventative checks and recommendations.
• QuickTools for fast and efficient repairs.

6Fast, safe and effective belt cleaning
with IPCO QuickCleaner
The IPCO QuickCleaner is an innovative cleaning process thatblasts salt at high pressure to remove carbon residues – andpotentially hazardous acrylamide – from bake oven belts.

The system works by blasting a combination of
sodium bicarbonate and calcium phosphate
across a moving belt, a method that removes
the bulk of the residue without damaging thesteel. The chemical action of the salt cleaner
then attacks the organic residues at a molecularlevel, further enhancing the cleaning. A built-insuction hood removes the cleaning material
from the belt as part of the same process.

Quick and environmentally friendly, it produces aclean, degreased belt, ready to return to opera­­tion. The process is completely dry, so there is norisk of rust, no need for waste water treatment
and significantly lower energy consumption thanwith other cleaning methods.

7Perforated steel belts – the best of both worlds
Standard perforation
patterns

As well as our solid steel belts, we also supply perforated steelbelts, a highly flexible, universal bake oven belt solution that opens
up the possibility of baking both mesh and solid belt products on
the same line.
Hole diameter
mm (inches)
Triangular pitch mm(inches)
Open area %We supplied our firstbake oven belt in 1925
and our close partnershipwith the industry
continues to this day.

2.0 (0.079)
3.5 (0.138)
29.6

By using a perforated belt, air circulation within
the oven can be improved, heating costs can be
reduced and, perhaps most important of all, a
better quality end product can be produced.

Quality
Easy cleaning ensures even baking for a highquality end product, while the smooth surface ofthe belt ensures easy removal with breakages.

Perforated belts offer all the benefits of a solid
belt – hygiene, ease of cleaning, smooth service
and excellent thermal properties – with theadded advantage of being lighter than bothwire mesh and solid belts.

Productivity
Perforated steel belts offer a number of key
advantages vs. mesh including outstanding
resistance to stretching and deformation, andexcellent tensioning and tracking characteristics,
resulting in low maintenance requirements andmaximum uptime.

IPCO perforated steel belts are currently inoperation in bake ovens around the world,
delivering a range of benefits including:
Durability
Equal to that of our solid steel belts, i.e. typicallymore than 20 years. This compares favourablywith the average lifetime of a wire mesh belt,
which is generally 4–5 years.

Standard perforation patterns
IPCO perforated belts are available in five stan­
dard perforation patterns covering most require­ments. A wide range of other patterns, with aminimum hole diameter of 0.8 mm (0.03 in.) anddifferent spacing, can be provided to suit specificapplications.

2.5 (0.098)
5.0 (0.197)
22.7

Steel bake oven belt sizes and specifications
IPCO solid and perforated steel belts are the ideal medium forconveying all kinds of baked products. The tough, hard-wearing
surface guarantees product quality and delivers years of excellent
and predictable service with a belt that stays flat, keeps its shapeand maximises production output.
Manufactured from hardened and tempered
carbon steel, IPCO steel belts can be suppliedin an almost unlimited combination of widths
and lengths.
Our bake oven belts are produced in steel grade
IPCO 1100C. This offers:• Hard smooth surface for easy cleaning• Good flatness• Good static strength• Very good fatigue strength• Very good thermal properties• Excellent wear resistance• Good repairability• Benefits over wire mesh belts• Low risk of corrosion

83.0 (0.118)
5.0 (0.197)
32.6

Technical data (at room temperature, approx. figures)
IPCO 1100C
Proof strength, MPa, (ksi)

3.0 (0.118)
6.5 (0.256)
19.3

1 100 (159)

Tensile strength, MPa, (ksi)

1 200 (174)

Density, kg/m³, (lb/in³)

7 850 (0.284)

Modulus of elasticity, MPa, (ksi) ×10³

196 (28.38)

Thermal expansion, 1/ °C (1/ °F) ×10-6

20 – 100 °C (68 – 212 °F)

Thermal conductivity, W/m °C (Btu/ft h °F)
Specific heat capacity, kJ/kg °C (Btu/lb °F) 20 – 100 °C (68 – 212 °F)

10.4 (5.8)
39 (22)0.46 (0.11)

5.5 (0.217)
9.5 (0.374)
30.4

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Steel belts for greater production versatility
Products as varied as biscuits, pizza bases, granola bars, cakes,macaroons and brownies can all be baked on a solid steel belt.
The flat surface provides a crisp base that cannot be achieved on
any other conveying medium, and its hard, smooth quality delivers
a clean product release.
These qualities make the solid steel belt
ideal for the production of American-stylecookies. As these products use real butter,and often chocolate chips too, they need to
be baked on a solid belt to eliminate the riskof melted product dripping and causing a fire,or simply drying out. And the excellent heattransfer and thermal conductivity of the beltdelivers the desirable combination of a crisp
base and rich, buttery cookie.

This particular customer was producing thincrackers on a mesh belt but wanted to increase
output and extend production capability toinclude biscuits and cakes.

The global appetite for real butter cookies has
led a growing number of large players in thebakery industry to convert existing wire meshlines to run on IPCO steel belts. While this isn’t
quite as straightforward as simply swappingout one type of belt for another (the conveyor
components also need replacing), it is far more
economical – and faster – than having to invest
in completely new lines.

Our role in the commissioning process revealed
unwanted variations in temperature acrossthe belt during the heating-up stage, resulting
in tracking issues. The oven heating system waschecked and rectified, and the problem solved.

Upgrading from mesh to a solid steel belt
We have successfully completed a number of
upgrade projects around the world, enablingcustomers to broaden their ranges and enter
new markets. This case study of a Chinese
customer is typical.

We supplied and installed a solid steel belt,
1 000 mm wide, 1.2 mm thick and 170 m long,complete with new drums, scraper, springloaded guiding rolls, automatic tracking device,graphite skid bars and cast iron skid bars.

The customer achieved the goals of increasing
productivity and introducing new products ofa consistently high quality – all within a shortpayback period.
Cast iron skid bar(Skid support is narrower
than the steel belt)

Automatictracking
deviceSpring loaded guide rolls are recommended for tracking
steel belts in the intermediate part of a conveyor.

10Graphite skid bar(Skid support is narrower
than the steel belt)

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