Discussing Differences Between High Temperature Equipment
Industrial ovens are used more widely in industry now than they were ever before. With a preponderance of coatings in hitherto unused applications, materials such as a carbon fiber and more coming into view, heat treating equipment has become much more in demand.
Industrial ovens are the most common of heat treating equipment, though not all ovens are the same.
Industrial ovens come in a few different varieties, each optimized for their operation. Different types of industrial ovens are very rarely used interchangeably as substitutes, and business owners must make decision about the type of oven to use for their process early on.
We take a look at the different types of industrial ovens that are used in manufacturing:
Curing ovens – This heat treating equipment is used to ‘cure’ material (i.e. cause a chemical reaction) at a specified temperature. Curing ovens are used widely in powder coating.
Drying ovens – As the name suggests, these are used to remove moisture from whatever is placed in this heat treating equipment. Drying ovens are used often as pre-treatment to remove remote traces of moisture, and for final preparation, for instance in painting.
Baking ovens – Baking ovens have come into widespread use in the last decade or so with the growth of carbon fiber part production in the automotive, sporting and other sectors. Essentially, these are used to remove moisture as well as propagate chemical reactions to form the material.
Batch ovens – The batch oven is something of a misnomer in that it is not so much distinctive heat treating equipment as it is how it is configured to be used. Batch ovens allow batches of product to be baked in one go through the use of carts. These permit high volume production.
Heat treating equipment has become more specialized over time, with industries preferring to custom design their own oven and thermal preparation process rather than adapting one that is generic. An example of this is also the reflow over, which is used in the manufacture of printed circuit boards. Other ovens include clean room ovens, which as the name suggests are deployed in environment which work on applications requiring a sterile environment.