EPS Heat Treat Headlines

Last week, EPS President Ken Klein shared with us three categories of customers who purchase large industrial ovens. In this week’s post Ken shares with us what to look for when making the purchase:

Airflow – In real estate, the three primary considerations are location, location and location. For a large forced convection oven the primary considerations, as I see it, are airflow, airflow and airflow. Sounds pretty basic, doesn’t it? But airflow is going to determine a number of things, like how efficiently you will heat your load, how fast you will recover after a door open if you will be taking parts in and out, and the temperature uniformity you can expect. And yes – I have chatted with prospective customers who are entertaining quotes from other builders for their standard horizontal-in-from-the-side-vertical-return-to-the-ceiling airflow patterns, when as it turns out their load would block vertical airflow. Likewise I’ve seen instances of a customer looking at horizontal side-to-side quotes when they will stand large panels on end that will block the flow. Give this some thought up front—it will save you a lot of nightmares downstream.

Rate of Rise – How fast do you want to get to temperature? It’s one thing to say you want to get there in 45 minutes if you are heating a load that doesn’t weigh much. Heating up a 40,000 lb. weldment is another story. Be realistic, and depending on the weight and nature of your load the air temperature may get there long before the core of your product.

Next up: Ken talks about the difference between accuracy and uniformity and the challenges of control.

This four-part series from EPS President Ken Klein, “Oven Selection and Specifications,” shares tips and tools for customers looking for large industrial oven applications.

In this first post, Ken talks about three customer categories for large industrial oven purchases:

One of my college professors started each day’s lecture with the words “today we’re going to talk about…” So, everyone, today we are going to talk about selecting and specifying an oven, a subject near and dear to every oven builder’s heart.

This is a challenging industry, especially where large industrial ovens are concerned. If we’re talking small lab units or other small standard catalog ovens, the process is easy–unless the customer’s requirements are misinterpreted. For larger units that must be designed for the application I tend to group customers in three general categories. That’s not to say some don’t slop over from one category to another, but in general they fit into distinct categories:

Category #1: The primary contact is inquiring on the behalf of others and has very little information on the application. He or she can try to get more information for you, but they may or may not repeat the requirements accurately and additional questions may or may not yield helpful answers.

Category #2: Primary contact is inquiring on behalf of others and is passing on a spec that makes it sound like they are constructing the next great missile system. Every detail is spelled out in exact terms. There are paragraphs and sub-paragraphs, ranging from those that are straightforward to those that ask for features either extremely complex or plain impractical.

Category #3: Primary contact is the end user and can tell you anything you want to know.

Of these three the second is received with mixed reactions by most builders. Certainly you have an apparently unyielding spec which should make it easy for the customer to evaluate all bids on an apples-to-apples basis, but most often the requirements are seen to be over the top or unrealistic, meaning many builders will need to take exception to a number of the requirements. That’s where things get murky. The builder wonders if he has a chance at getting the order. He may feel that if he quotes exactly to the spec the unit is going to be so expensive that the customer is likely to buy from another bidder who had the sense to take exception to the requirements he feels pile on the costs unnecessarily. In addition, the customer has a lot of technical exceptions to wade through. He may or may not have the expertise to evaluate the exceptions properly and may end up tossing the quotes that are too difficult to wade through.

So – let’s guess at which one is my favorite. The third of course. Easiest to understand and respond to. This article is addressed to those of you who need an oven and want to get a good comprehensive bid on your requirements. We are going to concentrate on forced convection ovens. Here’s what you should be thinking about when you talk to prospective bidders.

Next up: Ken Klein talks about the characteristics that matter when choosing an oven.

Whether you are seeking industrial ovens for heat treating, aging, curing, or bake out processes, Engineered Production Systems encompassing experience is capable of handling any or all of your oven needs.  EPS engineers have been designing batch and continuous ovens for a diverse number of industries and client applications  since inception in 1978.  We use the highest quality components when manufacturing our ovens.  Our relationships with prominent control system makers, such as honeywell, Partlow, and Barber Colman allow us to optimize which system is best for which oven. We will also listen to your requested specifications for both the control systems and oven design.  You can contact us at any time to customize your oven or for any further questions.  For reference, we’ve listed the various industrial oven applications below.

Custom Industrial Oven Applications

• Powder Coat Burn-Off
• Insulation Burn-Off
• Resin Heating/Holding
• Thermoform Preheating
• Thermal Oxidizing (Afterburners)
• Industrial Ovens with Multiple Door Configurations
• Combination Bake-Out/Drying

Typical Industrial Curing Oven Applications

• Epoxy Curing – Electronic Components
• Powder Coat Curing - Batch or Continuous
• Aerospace Composite Curing
• Adhesive Curing
• Golf Shaft Curing
• Custom Curing Applications to Customer Specifications

Typical Industrial Oven Drying Applications<

• Water Dry-Off for:
  • Granulated Materials
  • Strip Materials
  • Formed Shapes
• Solvent Dry-Off
• Continuous Graphite Filament Drying
• Screen Print Drying

Typical Bake Out Applications

• Varnish Bake-Out
• Wet Paint Bake-Out – Solvent or Water Base
• Custom Bake-Out Applications per Customer specifications

Typical Heat Treating Applications

• Aluminum Aging
• Aluminum Heat Treat and Quench
• Aluminum Billet Preheat
• Stainless Steel Normalizing
• Computer Disk Annealing
• Medical Wire and Plastic Tube Annealing
• Ceramic/Metal Wire Preheat
• Glass Annealing Oven & Furnace
• Wire Coil Annealing
• Cress Heat Treat Furnaces

EPS and Cress Furnaces have been working together for over 20 years. In recognition of this impressive liaison, EPS is offering free shipping for all laboratory and tool room furnaces.

While the competitive pricing Cress offers helps, it has always been the quality, durability, and service of Cress forging the basis of this long time business relationship. This partnership prospers as EPS, a seller, is extremely familiar , knowledgeable and confident when it comes to the Cress product line, and Cress has the experience and name that sells itself.

Cress Furnaces have built their reputation over years by building some of the most durable Heat Treat Furnaces available, ensuring long, consistent and precise use. Cress engineers  have identified the most efficient chamber sizes, temperature ranges, and the highest demanded accessories. In addition to their longstanding name and experience, the Cress service mantra is one of speedy, timely, and reliable support where the goal is to “achieve an excellent product to satisfy the needs and requirements of our customers.”

A large part of their customer support is their overall lead time. An experienced company like Cress has the manufacturing process down to a science, which means a 3-4 week lead time for products. An extremely short period in the furnace world. EPS stands behind their ability to customize their furnaces by extending capabilities or features beyond their base build for specific needs. They also can provide custom or personal sizes. In terms of ongoing support for replacement parts, such as a heating element, they have lead-times as short as one day.

EPS is also highly confident with Cress Furnaces when it comes to AMS Requirements. Cress’ experience ensures they always have their thumb on the pulse of the closely governed Aerospace specifications.

Engineered Product Sales represents the complete line of Cress Furnaces. The Cress Heat Treat Furnace line includes lab furnaces, medium and large production furnaces, and drop bottom quench furnaces.

Solar panel demand and subsequent manufacturing are growing at an impressive rate.  As noted in one report, “Solar power has been expanding rapidly in the past eight years, growing at an average pace of 40 percent per year”.  At the same time, the cost per kilowatt-hour of solar photovoltaic systems has also been dropping, while electricity generated from fossil fuels is becoming more expensive.  Ultimately meaning that solar power is projected to reach cost parity with conventional power sources in many US markets by 2015 with total contribution to the USA’s power needs reaching 10% by 2025. With a plethora of movers and shakers behind the solar movement, including at the State and Federal level, the solar market and demand for relative products has no ceiling.

As this exciting time in solar energy continues to evolve, EPS ovens is matching the excitement by offering Continuous and Batch ovens for Solar Panel Curing.  Our latest technology in computer based control for solar panel curing ovens offers the versatility to meet your requirements for solar panel manufacturing, as we have for multiple customers to date.

We can work with you quickly to provide a comprehensive proposal as we all move forward with this burgeoning solar power technology .

Send us your requirements here, and we will provide you with a complete, customized proposal.

For a limited time we are now offering free freight on all SHEL LAB ovens as well as Cress Single Chamber and Cress Dual Chamber Heat Treat Furnaces.

The SHEL LAB oven series offers a diverse choice of forced air ovens (floor models and bench-top units), gravity convection, clean room ovens, nitrogen purge ovens, and vacuum ovens. You will often hear the terms drying oven, curing oven, or bake out oven being used in industrial applications. These are generic terms that can be represented across multiple heat processing applications.  Click here for help finding the SHEL LAB Oven that will best fit your application.

Cress Heat treat (Hardening) furnaces have higher heat output power than draw furnaces due to the elevated temperatures at which they operate. Heat transfer to the tool steel is accomplished by a very efficient process called direct radiation. Temperature uniformity in these furnaces is best in the red heat range. Normal maximum temperature is 1232°C (2250°F). Optional 1316°C (2400°F.

For a free quote or questions about EPS Ovens Contact Us Here