Industrial drying ovens are unique thermal processing components used to combat the generation of humidity from heat treatment processes. Moisture can escape the surface of a solid sample during high-temperature curing and linger in the atmosphere of the processing chamber. If a furnace is not equipped to exhaust these vapors, the solid sample may reabsorb some of the moisture content and reduce the product yield. This hygroscopic behaviour can result in immediate or eventual product failure.

Curing of electronic components, pharmaceutical ingredients, and industrial epoxies must take place in specialized industrial drying ovens that are equipped to ventilate generated vapors and replace the atmospheric gas with cool, ambient air. This drastically reduces the risk of moisture re-uptake and improves product yield. However, introducing process air can be problematic for heating elements operating at high temperatures as it can cause chemical cross-contamination and degradation of oxygen-sensitive metals.

Increasing the loading factor to heavy-duty cast plate heaters has displayed significantly increased risk of mechanical failure in industrial drying ovens. In this instance, replacement heaters with superior chemical characteristics were required to successfully convert the furnace into an industrial drying oven capable of resisting the oxidizing effects of process air.

Retrofitting CoilCraft Heaters

CoilCraft heating elements are designed to improve the capacities of existing furnace infrastructures with low-invasiveness. Typically, an industrial drying oven retrofit involves comprehensive disassembly of the furnace and total re-wiring of its electrical systems.

Thermcraft’s CoilCraft Element System (CCES) can be engineered to application-specific geometries with identical lead outlets to existing heater plates. This enables engineers to easily insert the replacement elements into the heating compartment without requiring significant deconstruction of the furnace. The quick-change capacity of CoilCraft heaters reduces the mechanical downtime required to perform critical furnace maintenance resulting from component failure.

This heating system is based on existing heating matrices with a heavy-gauge wire element wrapped around a chemically-inert ceramic core. CCES retrofit industrial drying ovens exhibit outstanding thermal uniformity and reduced heating cycles to enhance the efficiency and yield of curing processes. They also display increased longevity across multiple heating and cooling cycles where atmospheric air is used to displace process humidity.

Industrial Drying Ovens from Thermcraft

Thermcraft is a leading manufacturer and supplier of bespoke thermal processing equipment designed for a range of industrial and scientific facilities across the world. Our range of product and services is extensive, and we are committed to providing significant aftercare to ensure that your furnace is suitable for application for as long as possible.

If you feel that you would benefit from an industrial drying oven retrofit, please feel free to contact us.