An industrial oven is a heated chamber that is used for a range of different heat treatment processes. They operate at extremely high temperatures and can be used for both small or large volume applications.

Types of Industrial Oven

There are two main configurations of industrial ovens, batch and continuous.

A batch oven is also known as a ‘walk-in’ oven. These ovens work by inserting batches of materials that all need to undergo the same heat treatment process at different times. Batch ovens are also useful if the material to be heat-treated needs to be changed in different batches.

The batches are placed into the industrial oven on carts, trays, or racks, and this can be done either manually or automatically, making it easy to switch between batches.

A continuous oven is often chosen over a batch oven in mass-production settings. They provide a consistent heating environment, and often have separate heating and cooling chambers which help to speed-up the process.

Industrial Oven Heat Sources

The most common heat sources for an industrial oven are hot water, gas, and electricity, and these heat sources are often introduced into the oven via forced convection.

Out of the heat sources mentioned above, electric heated industrial ovens are the most popular as they are designed to have extremely fast heat-up times and have a long life span. Generally, these industrial ovens are inexpensive, and they don’t result in any pollution.

Gas fired industrial ovens are available in both direct and indirect configurations. Both of these ovens can use either natural gas or propane and are initially more expensive than electric ovens, however their running costs are considerably cheaper.

In a hot water heated industrial oven the water travels through radiator coils to emit heat. These types of ovens are extremely effective in situations where lower temperature ranges are used and quick heat-up is not required.

Industrial Oven Air Flow

In any industrial oven, the air needs to flow successfully from the air supply duct to the return duct. The pattern of the air flow can differ depending on the type of industrial oven and there are a number of common air flow patterns.

When the air supply duct is on the side of the oven and the return duct is on the ceiling of the oven the pattern is known as horizontal/vertical. This is a common configuration when larger materials are used. A vertical/horizontal configuration is the exact opposite of this.

When smaller materials are used, or if the materials are hung on shelves in the industrial oven an air flow pattern of vertical/top down or vertical/bottom up is used. A full horizontal air flow configuration is also used when shelves are used to insert the material into the industrial furnace.

These configurations are designed so that the airflow can travel around the shelving units with minimum obstruction.

Industrial Ovens from Thermcraft

Thermcraft have over 40 years of experience in manufacturing standard and custom industrial ovens, and we supply both batch and continuous types. We can manufacture bespoke solutions to suit your application need.

If you would like any more information about our range of industrial ovens, please contact us.