Case Study

Case Study: Custom Infrared Oven For Injection Mould Tooling Manufacturer

A US manufacturer specialising in automated injection mould design and production looked to Ceramicx to design and build a complete infrared heating system for their tooling processes.

North American sector leaders

With decades of experience in the industry, our customer is a leader in the mould-making and automation sector. Their history and reputation have seen them expand their capabilities and serve customers in multiple sectors and industries, from aerospace and automotive to food and medical equipment, across the United States.

Custom Ceramicx solutions

Ongoing contact and discussions between the customer and our North American distributor, Weco International, saw both teams refining the proposed design to meet the conditions required. These included custom specifications, parts, and control mechanisms, together with high-temperature, internal wiring with ceramic terminal blocks and glass fibre insulated NPC cable for safety.

Collating the requirements allowed the Ceramicx team to draw up final plans and recommendations for the new standalone oven. Its principal feature was the inclusion of 16 custom-made, 10kW, shortwave, twin-tube quartz halogen infrared elements controlled via open-loop technology, giving each heater its own individual zone.

These elements would be placed inside two panels (one upper and one lower, both with an 8 x 1 array) and housed inside a high-strength AISI 304 stainless steel frame with 25mm insulation. The oven also included a pneumatically operated door mechanism with vertical operation.

Micro-Epsilon, non-contact sensors were also specified for precision, material temperature monitoring (CT model) via x 6 pyrometer holes. Provision was made for the infrared pyrometer itself to be moved to different locations across the top of the oven, with lids covering any locations not in use.

The custom control system is connected via quick-connect plugs and comprises a 160 kW control panel using 3 x 480V +PE AC voltage.