Curing, Drying, Batch & Conveyor Industrial Ovens

While W. C. Grant designs and builds ovens for many different industries and applications, much of our oven work is for curing and drying applications, and for foodservice applications.

Curing Ovens — The function of a curing oven is to bring a substance up to a certain temperature at which a chemical reaction takes place. A typical application is powder coating. Powder coatings are essentially colorized plastic resins; they are sprayed on dry at room temperature, and then must be heated until they flow and set. Once the powder coated parts cool, a thin, uniform film forms a durable and decorative finish.

Drying Ovens — The function of a drying oven is to remove moisture. Typical applications are pre-treating and painting. Unlike powder coating, where the pigments and binders are applied dry, paints and pretreatments go on wet; the active ingredients are suspended in a liquid base. Once the parts are coated, they must spend time in a drying oven to drive off the liquid base, leaving behind the active ingredients as a dry, hard film.

Baking Ovens — The function of baking ovens combines the functions of curing and drying ovens; baking ovens both bring a substance up to a chemically-reactive temperature and drive off moisture in the process. Typical applications are found in the foodservice industries.

Regardless of function — curing, drying or baking — W. C. Grant industrial ovens are available in three styles: batch, belt conveyor, and overhead conveyor.

Batch Ovens — Also called cabinet or truck-in ovens, batch ovens are essentially heated boxes with insulated doors. The parts or products to be cured, dried or baked are brought into the oven in batches (duh!) on wheeled racks, carts or trucks. Typical applications include powder coating operations and foodservice.

Belt Conveyor Ovens — Also called tunnel ovens, parts and products move through the oven on a conveyor belt. Conveyor belt ovens are typically part of a conveyorized processing line, with the oven's conveyor belt set to the line's pass height. Typical applications are found in many industries, especially foodservice.

Overhead Conveyor Ovens — Also called slit ovens, parts and products move through the oven suspended on racks from an overhead monorail. Typical applications are powder coating, painting, and pretreatment lines.