SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DRYING EXTRUDED HONEYCOMB BODIES

A system (2) for extruding and drying an extruded honeycomb body (14) which has channels (18) that extend in a longitudinal direction (L) and which channels (18) are each bounded by first channel walls (20a) that extend in a first direction (A) which is transverse relative to the longitudinal direction (L), and by second channel walls (20b) that extend in a second direction (B) in which is also transverse relative to the longitudinal direction (L) comprises: (i) an extruder (16) having an extrusion head (17) for producing the honeycomb body (14) by extrusion; (ii) a microwave oven (4) comprising an arrangement of a plurality of microwave radiators (6), each microwave radiator being for irradiating the honeycomb body with a directional microwave beam in an irradiation direction (S); and (iii) a feed unit (12) adjoining the extruder (16) for transferring the honeycomb body from the extruder (16) into the microwave oven (4), wherein either: (a) the extrusion head (17) of the extruder is oriented in such a way that during operation of the system the orientation position of the extruded honeycomb body (14) resulting from the extrusion when transferred into the microwave oven (4) is such that the irradiation direction (S) of each microwave radiator (6) is oriented at a predefined irradiation angle (a) which is not zero relative to each of the two transverse directions (A, B) of the first and second channel walls (20a, 20b); GBor (b) the system (2) is designed to sense the orientation of the first and/or second channel walls (20a, 20b) of the honeycomb body produced by the extruder and to move the honeycomb body and/or a microwave radiator (6) into a set point orientation such that the irradiation direction (S) of each microwave radiator (6) is oriented at a predefined irradiation angle (a) which is not zero relative to each of the two transverse directions (A, B) of the first and second channel walls (20a, 20b).