Industrial Drying Oven
Industrial ovens are specially designed ovens that are used for processes that require a product to be heated at a constant temperature over a period of time for either part process of completion of a project.
They have many uses in different industries and come in a range of different varieties:
- Batch Oven
- Conveyor Oven
- Heat Treatment Oven
- Top Loading Oven
There are many more different kinds of oven, for this article we will focus on the industrial drying oven.
What an Industrial drying oven does.
Industrial drying ovens offer essentially what the name suggests, the drying out of materials. They are useful for removing moisture and pre-treating products, in a range of products such as:
- Timber
- Powder
- Feeds
- Ceramics
- Sands and soils
- Pharmaceuticals
Drying ovens are sometimes known as kilns, although they operate at a lower temperature than that of a ceramic kiln.
The process they provide is to dried solids in production by removing liquid by heat transfer causing evaporation.
Uses
Industrial drying ovens are common place in many industries, the most commonly known would probably in baking, this is probably the easiest way to understand what a drying oven does. When cakes are placed into the in oven in a liquid form, heat from the oven causes the cakes to dry out just as you would see with a regular domestic oven. They are used by bakers and factories up and down the country in baking.
They also have great uses in drying out pharmaceuticals such as pills; to produce a solid form through air applied heat, this makes them valuable in the medical industry.
Getting a drying oven
Due to the many benefits that industrial drying ovens provide, it may be that you have decided that one would be ideally suited in your business. There a number of manufacturers providing drying ovens but it is important to know what size of machine you need and how you would want it heated.
Ovens can be custom built to suit any size restraints you may have, if you are pushing for available space then having manufacturers specifically design your oven could be beneficial to you.
Industrial drying ovens need to apply exactly the right heat to materials or risk a term known as `Desiccation' this is when a material falls victim to extreme dryness. Some manufacturers offer technology that provides cross flow drying which enables products to be dried from two sides, speeding up drying times. Having an oven that provides six to eight heat changes per minute can also ensure that any hot and cold spots are taken care of.
You would need to decide how you wanted your drying oven heated; this could be through electricity, gas, indirect oil, steam or hot water. Newly insulated machines are designed to minimise heat loss and provide excellent insulation making machines energy efficient no matter which way they are heated.
Some manufacturers have ovens delivered and built in your factory space whilst some could have in ready to install in one whole unit, this is also something to consider.