Author: Dave Cockett

At Thermcraft, we not only manufacture custom furnaces for numerous laboratory applications, we also offer a full line of standard laboratory furnaces that can be purchased online. Our standard e-XPRESS LINE lab furnaces are simple to install and arrive ready to plug in and use. These furnaces feature convenient options for controllability, including easy-to-use color touch screens – much like your typical smart phone. Thermcraft’s express line products are also programmable, giving you the ability to set heating and cooling cycles to meet your needs. We offer a total of eight e-XPRESS LINE furnaces with a choice of three configurations…

Thermcraft’s Express Line of lab furnaces offers three main types of box furnaces in different temperature ranges. The following box furnace temperature guide provides details on each of the three box furnace ranges. 1200°C box furnace. Featuring an integrated control system, Thermcraft’s 1200°C Express Line lab furnace has a vertical lift door that ensures hot door insulation that faces away from the user. Likewise, a safety switch interrupts power when the door is open. The processing of steel parts, drying, preheating, and curing are typical applications. The furnace features an air gap between the exterior of the heated chamber and…

Supplied in rolls, ceramic fiber insulation blanket is highly formable, which makes it the perfect insulation for refractory machinery. It can fill voids, encapsulate machinery, and even be integrated into heating components. Ceramic Fiber Insulation: Manufacturing Ceramic Blanket Made primarily from high-temperature insulation wool produced from synthetic materials, ceramic fiber insulation can withstand temperatures that consistently exceed 1200°C. The synthetic material is densified, treated, and machined prior to application. Ceramic fiber insulation is created from high-quality refractory ceramic fibers made from alumina silicate. The process takes various combinations of pure aluminum oxide (AL2O3) and silicon dioxide (SiO2) and melts them…

What is a Pharmaceutical Oven? Pharmaceutical ovens (or pharma ovens) offer a quick and economical means of drying materials in both laboratories and pharmaceutical preparation facilities. Developing pharmaceuticals involves an extensive period of research and testing before a product is ready to be manufactured. Research laboratories and production facilities that are part of the pharmaceutical market use sterilizers, dryers and pharmaceutical ovens to produce and test medication. The Importance of Pharmaceutical Ovens Between the manufacture and distribution of pharmaceuticals, there is a large amount of issues that can arise, resulting in products being contaminated before they reach the user. A…

Ashing is the process of expelling organic material from a sample before it is analyzed. For ashing to take place, complete combustion of the sample is critical to yield accurate results, and this requires the use of an ashing furnace. However, because there are many different applications of ashing, there is no standard model for ashing furnaces and they often have to be purpose-built. Key Aspects of Ashing Furnace Design Ashing furnaces are used to quantify the change in weight from a sample as one or more components are burned away. When choosing an ashing furnace, it is necessary to…

What is Powder Coating? Powder coating protects materials from atmospheric influence. It provides an even surface and a uniform finish. Thermoset or thermoplastic is used and granulated into a powder form. The powder is then sprayed onto the surface of a metal object using an electric charge and then this surface needs to be cured. Ovens are required for curing a powder coating. Powder coating ovens must be able to sustain temperatures of 450°F and the oven will need to be large enough to fit all the powder-coated objects inside. Powder coating ovens do not require the use of solvents,…

Convection ovens manipulate air flow within a heating chamber to effectively regulate temperature. Sometimes known as forced air ovens, convection ovens used a combination of blowers and fans to circulate air and evenly distribute heat—ensuring that all objects within the chamber are heated uniformly. This is the basic concept of most domestic ovens, but industrial convection ovens are commonplace too. How are Convection Ovens Used in an Industrial Setting? Industrial convection ovens are highly versatile and can be used to heat large quantities of objects extremely quickly. Industrial convection ovens can reach extremely high temperatures and can be used for…

Ashing is the process of removing organic material from a sample before analysis and is widely used in the food and petroleum industries. The processes of ashing can generally be split into two categories: wet ashing and dry ashing. Wet ashing removes organic material from a sample employing a liquid phase reactant such as combinations of acids. Dry ashing is achieved through the controlled combustion of a sample in air. Generally, dry ashing procedures follow the same basic principle: samples should be sufficiently heated in air which causes oxidation and removal of organic material from the sample. The remaining material…