Tag: ir oven

Difference between Gas Catalytic Oven and Electric Infrared Oven

Gas catalytic oven uses radiation heat transfer technique  to heat only the paint and powder without heating the surface. Electric Infrared Oven  use electric infrared heaters to radiate heat into a part. The ovens can be designed in various shapes and for nearly any process involving heat treatment. Gas catalytic oven is the most cost effective and energy efficient curing solution. Compared to electric infrared, gas catalytic infrared uses significantly less energy to operate. These ovens are commonly used for curing powder coatings on nearly any substrate. Further life of the electric heaters are less which means higher replacement costs which will increase your maintenance costs. Gas catalytic infrared ovens do not rely on heated, moving air to increase the part temperature.  This reduces opportunities for cross-contamination or blowing off un-cured powder on powder coated parts.Electric infrared ovens are the fastest way to heat a part. For extremely small spaces and fast line speeds, electric infrared energy will transfer the infrared energy faster than gas catalytic infrared ovens. gas catalytic ovens can bring down drying time drastically and also it uses less fuel bringing down energy costs.

Gas Catalytic Oven Can Cure Powder in 3-4 Minutes

Yes its true , gas catalytic oven can cure the powder with 3-4 minutes. it can also be used as a booster oven to bring down drying times and reduce the length of the conventional powder curing oven and reduce on investment costs. It can be retrofitted into an existing powder coating plant/line. Gas catalytic oven reduces your fuel/energy/running costs by 50% and increase your productivity. The gas catalytic oven uses a special radiation heat transfer technique which heats the powder and not the metal. Radiation heat is created by oxidizing the gas either LPG or natural gas using a catalyst. Gas catalytic ovens can be used on flat as well as complex shaped parts.

Prism has installed many gas catalytic ovens  around the world as well as in India along with its powder coating plants and Painting lines.

Symptoms Of A Bad Paint/Powder Drying Oven

How to know if your paint or powder curing oven is giving you issues? The paint curing oven is one of the most important part of your painting line and a bad curing oven can lead to a lot of risk and decreased productivity. Your curing oven should be able to satisfy all cure  parameters and perform consistently.

Some of the side effects or symptoms of  poorly designed paint curing oven are heat loss, chipping, poor airflow, orange peel, poor adhesion, difference in gloss, uneven colors/shade mismatching, poor chemical resistance, poor corrosion resistance etc. To avoid all these issues the paint curing oven must be designed properly with proper air flow and efficient heat exchangers (indirect heating). Prism ovens are well designed and known for their temperature accuracy. This is achieved through an effective air seal between the oven and the outside ambient conditions. Prism can supply various types of paint or powder curing ovens which include A Zone ovens, camel back ovens, ground mounted ovens and also IR ovens.

 

5 Advantages of Gas Catalytic Ovens

WHAT EXACTLY IS A GAS CATALYTIC/IR OVEN?

For curing any paint or powder coating one needs to heat the paint to a specific temperature and retain it for a certain period as recommended by the paint/powder supplier. It is assumed most of the ovens used worldwide will use convection heat transfer with airflow in the oven to heat the parts first which in turn will heat the paint/ powder. This means higher the thickness of the part longer the time it takes in the oven to cure the paint/powder. Consequently higher fuel consumption, high powder consumption, longer length of the oven etc. Normally powder/paint suppliers specify 10 minutes retention time at 180 degrees centigrade to cure powder and 25 minutes at 140-180 degrees to cure paint.
However if we use radiation heat transfer technique we will be able to heat paint/powder directly without heating the metal. However conventional electric infra red heaters produces intense short wave length which is highly sensitive when used to cure paint/powder. Further life of these electric heaters are limited which means replacement costs. Instead radiation heat can be created by oxidizing the gas
(LPG or Natural Gas) using a catalyst .The gas flow can be regulated using a digital program which can be varied or stopped zone wise. Combining little airflow with radiation can even cure paint/powder on complex shape parts. Typically these ovens cure powder in 3 to 4 minutes (total time) & 4 to 5 minutes to cure liquid paints on flat parts saving huge amount of fuel and power.

5 Advantages of using a gas catalytic oven in powder coating plants and painting lines/shops.

1. LOWER ENERGY CONSUMPTION

GAS CATALYTIC OVENS consume way less fuel (around 40 % – 60 %) THAN CONVECTION OVEN. The reason is in conventional ovens the complete component is heated so it consumes more energy and in gas catalytic covens only the paint/powder is heated without heating the whole component, hence gas catalytic ovens are energy efficient.

2. CURES METAL PARTS MUCH FASTER
In convention ovens the component is heated from room temperature to 200 degrees centigrade and it takes 10-12 min to cure depending on the size and thickness of the component. Further it has to be in the oven for a minimum period of time to ensure proper curing, due to this the length of the oven required will be a minimum of 24 meters.

3. MINIMUM MAINTENANCE COSTS

Gas catalytic ovens do not use burners and air circulation blowers hence bringing down maintenance costs drastically.

4.FLASH OFF ZONE NOT REQUIRED

Since gas catalytic ovens heat only the paint and not the whole surface, the time required to cool the component will come down.

5. LOW RUNNING COSTS

Gas catalytic ovens take up less space and consumes low energy hence bringing down running costs.

Prism gas catalytic/IR  ovens has been installed successfully and are running worldwide. This gas catalytic oven can be used to cure products like pressure cookers, rail coaches/wagons, hydraulic cylinders, bus bodies, shock absorbers, electric panels, fan components and many more.