How to Determine the Best Industrial Convection Oven for your Application
The most common application of ovens as known to mankind is for baking; but do you know that an industrial convection oven can be used for a wide range of industrial processes? Industrial convection ovens are being used by the food and beverage industry, pharmaceuticals, automotive, biotechnological, etc. Since there is a wide range of industrial convection ovens available in the market, it is important to define the application to determine the right type and size of industrial convection oven that will produce the best results.
Selecting an Industrial Convection Oven Based on your Application
When you are looking for an industrial convection oven for curing of powder coat, there are different variables that have to be considered like the size, shape and thickness of the product, its material composition and the type of powder that will be used in the curing process. Curing of powder coating makes use of several heating methods with convection ovens as the more popular. However, the powder coating industry has another option with infrared ovens that makes use of radiant heating as opposed to convection. More innovative powder coating businesses prefer to customize the Industrial convection oven so that they can gain the best advantages from infrared and convection technologies.
Another type of industrial convection oven that is also frequently used in the powder coating industry is the drying oven to remove moisture from the materials prior to the coating process. Drying ovens are more popularly known as kilns. They are designed to produce temperature sufficient for drying, hardening or burning. Aside from the powder coating industry, kilns are also popularly used in the pottery industry. Ideally, the industrial convection oven used for the drying process is the conveyor oven that can handle high volume of parts. Conveyor ovens ensure consistent processing times and uniformity of temperature which is very critical for heat processing results.
Another challenging decision that the powder coating industry has to make is the choice between the batch oven and continuous oven. In some instances, the size and shape of the products vary substantially including the production volume. The batch oven is more ideal for such situations because it is more flexible in process variables like temperature and dwell time. On the other hand, it is more efficient and cost effective to use the continuous oven for large quantities of similar products. Powder coating of electronic components and auto parts frequently employ continuous ovens because of the consistency of thermal processing time.
Deciding on an industrial convection oven can be pretty daunting because of the number of factors that have to be considered. It is always important to consider the oven that best suits the application. Industrial convection ovens normally have a stainless steel interior but for special processing requirements, the industrial convection oven needs a special kind of construction and components. Special temperature requirements may also require a different construction technique meaning that the oven design has to be customized to be suitable for the application. However, the best way to make an informed decision on the best type of industrial convection oven for the application is to be properly knowledgeable of the equipment’s functions.