Batch Ovens Cure Composites for Aerospace Industry
Wisconsin Oven designed and manufactured three (3) electrically heated batch ovens for low to medium temperature resin curing of composite material on assorted aerospace parts. The ovens have work chamber dimensions of 7’0” wide x 10’0” long x 7’0” high and maximum operating temperatures of 500º F.
The ovens are constructed with 4” thick tongue and groove panel assemblies, 12 gauge aluminized floors, and 20 gauge aluminized steel interiors and ductwork. The heating systems feature incoloy sheathed heating elements, for a total of 96kW in each oven with SCR power control. The recirculation systems each consist of an 8,600 CFM @ 10 HP blower, and utilize combination airflow to maximize heating rates and temperature uniformity.
The ovens are specifically designed with composite curing features for precise temperature and pressure control. The exhausts feature motorized dampers on both the fresh air inlet and exhaust outlet for enhanced heating and cooling capabilities. Twelve (12) interior vacuum stubs per side, for a total of twenty-four (24) were provided on all three ovens, along with a twenty-four (24) position type “J” thermocouple jack panel per side of each oven. Vacuum transducer piping was also included on each vacuum port for customer supplied vacuum transducers. These features provide the customer with the ability to closely monitor part temperatures for a high quality cure.
The customer required a 9-point temperature uniformity of +/-10° F at 300° F. Actual temperature uniformity results on all three ovens were better than +/-6° F @ 300° F. The ovens have NEMA 12 control enclosures with IEC style motor starters, push buttons, and pilot lights. The temperature for each oven is controlled by a Watlow F4 programmable temperature controller with auto-tune. Over temperature protection is provided by a Watlow high limit controller.
For more information, visit the Enhanced Walk-In Ovens section of our website.