Industrial hearth deck oven and rotary rack oven

Industrial ovens are heated chambers used for a variety of industrial applications, including

drying Drying is a mass transfer process consisting of the removal of water or another solvent by evaporation from a solid, semi-solid or liquid. This process is often used as a final production step before selling or packaging products. To be considered ...

, curing, or

baking Baking is a method of preparing food that uses dry heat, typically in an oven, but can also be done in hot ashes, or on hot stones. The most common baked item is bread but many other types of foods can be baked. Heat is gradually transferred " ...

components, parts or final products. Industrial ovens can be used for large or small volume applications, in batches or continuously with a conveyor line, and a variety of

temperature Temperature is a physical quantity that expresses quantitatively the perceptions of hotness and coldness. Temperature is measured with a thermometer. Thermometers are calibrated in various temperature scales that historically have relied o ...

ranges, sizes and configurations. Such ovens are used in many different applications, including chemical processing,

food production The food industry is a complex, global network of diverse businesses that supplies most of the food consumed by the world's population. The food industry today has become highly diversified, with manufacturing ranging from small, traditiona ...

, and even in the electronics industry, where circuit boards are run through a conveyor oven to attach surface mount components. Some common types of industrial ovens include: *Curing ovens – Designed to cause a chemical reaction in a substance once a specific temperature is reached.

Powder coating Powder coating is a type of coating that is applied as a free-flowing, dry Powder (substance), powder. Unlike conventional liquid paint which is delivered via an evaporating solvent, powder coating is typically applied electrostatically and then P ...

is one common curing oven use. *Drying ovens – Designed to remove moisture. Typical applications are pre-treating and painting. Such ovens are also sometimes known as

kiln A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, that produces temperatures sufficient to complete some process, such as hardening, drying, or chemical changes. Kilns have been used for millennia to turn objects made from clay int ...

s, though they do not reach the same high temperatures as are used in

ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain ...

kilns. * Baking ovens – Combines the function of curing and drying ovens. *Reflow Ovens – A reflow oven is a machine used primarily for

reflow soldering Reflow soldering is a process in which a solder paste (a sticky mixture of powdered solder and flux) is used to temporarily attach one or thousands of tiny electrical components to their contact pads, after which the entire assembly is subject ...

of surface mount electronic components to

printed circuit board A printed circuit board (PCB; also printed wiring board or PWB) is a medium used in Electrical engineering, electrical and electronic engineering to connect electronic components to one another in a controlled manner. It takes the form of a L ...

s (PCB).

The oven contains multiple zones, which can be individually controlled for temperature. Generally, there are several heating zones followed by one or more cooling zones. The PCB moves through the oven on a

conveyor belt A conveyor belt is the carrying medium of a belt conveyor system (often shortened to belt conveyor). A belt conveyor system is one of many types of conveyor systems. A belt conveyor system consists of two or more pulleys (sometimes referred to ...

, and is therefore subjected to a controlled time-temperature profile. *Batch ovens – Also called cabinet or Walk-in/Truck-in ovens, batch ovens allow for curing, drying or baking in small batches using wheeled racks, carts or trucks. Ovens such as this are often found in large-volume bakeries in places such as

supermarket A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earli ...

s. *Conveyor or Continuous Ovens – Typically part of an automated conveyor processing line, conveyor ovens allow for higher volume processing.

Heat tunnel A shrink tunnel or heat tunnel is a heated tunnel mounted over or around a conveyor system. Items (such as packaging) have shrink film loosely applied; with heat, the film shrinks to fit snugly around the wrapped object. Uses * Shrink labels. * ...

s are an example. *Clean room ovens – Designed for applications requiring a

cleanroom A cleanroom or clean room is an engineered space, which maintains a very low concentration of airborne particulates. It is well isolated, well-controlled from contamination, and actively cleansed. Such rooms are commonly needed for scientif ...

, such as a

semiconductor manufacturing Semiconductor device fabrication is the process used to manufacture semiconductor devices, typically integrated circuit (IC) chips such as modern computer processors, microcontrollers, and memory chips such as NAND flash and DRAM that are pres ...

biotechnology Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used b ...

processes.

References

Industrial ovens {{Industry-stub

See also

References