en.Wedoany.com Reported - Germany Dürr has introduced Qflex technology, which completely decouples the oven from the heat source, enabling automotive manufacturers to flexibly adopt different energy sources and switch energy types in the future without modifying the oven. Currently, Dürr is equipping its entire oven series with centralized heating technology, focusing on two energy-flexible drying systems featuring Qflex technology: EcoInCure and EcoSmartCure. These ovens are equipped with variable heating circuits that are compatible with mainstream energy sources such as natural gas and electricity, and are also future-proof for hydrogen energy.
Dr. Heiko Dieter, Product Manager at Dürr, noted that in the context of fluctuating energy prices and increasing supply uncertainty, flexible ovens offer an alternative. When a certain energy supply method loses its cost advantage, operators can switch to another energy source at a low cost without modifying the oven's main structure. Additionally, with a hybrid energy supply system, the equipment can automatically select the optimal solution based on energy costs at different times.
The core of the Qflex system is a central heating module responsible for generating the thermal energy required for drying the car body, which is then distributed to various drying zones as needed via heating circuits. This module is compatible with both gas and electric heating methods. In the future, if a company needs to change the energy type due to reasons such as installing its own photovoltaic systems, it only needs to replace or adjust the heating module without modifying the oven's main structure. The system can also integrate equipment such as electric thermal storage to enable energy storage and on-demand usage.
The EcoInCure cross-flow oven has been deployed in over 30 paint shops worldwide, meeting high standards in heating response speed, process reliability, and paint finish quality. The EcoSmartCure innovates upon the traditional longitudinal operation mode by combining the central heating concept with a stop-and-go operation mode, allowing the car body to dry while stationary at designated stations. This oven offers higher temperature control precision, with targeted directional heating for critical areas of the car body, effectively reducing thermal stress on the workpiece and meeting the paint curing requirements for thick-walled components such as electric vehicle sill beams.
Both ovens feature a compact single-layer architecture without the need for an additional power unit layer, resulting in a smaller overall footprint and easier integration into existing plant buildings. Dürr states that for retrofitting existing factories, the EcoInCure and EcoSmartCure offer high cost-effectiveness in terms of both capital expenditure and operating expenses. Currently, the EcoSmartCure is in the industrial application testing phase, with two projects already in operation. Dr. Dieter stated that the Qflex technology integrated into Dürr ovens can flexibly respond to fluctuations in the energy market and the changing process requirements during automotive production.
