Ohio Star Forge of Warren, Ohio, recently started up a new roller-hearth continuous mesh-belt normalizing furnace system from Can-Eng Furnaces International Ltd. The furnace is designed to normalize a wide variety of steel forgings. This automated 3,500-pound/hour system includes a computerized loading system, mesh-belt normalizing furnace, forced-air cooling system and a level-2 automation system. The furnace is indirectly heated using radiant "U" tubes with recuperation to minimize the amount of oxidation. The integration of Can-Eng's level-2 automation system tracks product status and collects detailed process data that is used for continuous process improvement, equipment diagnostics, processing costs analysis and inventory management.