Thermal cleaning solutions can be a more cost-effective and environmentally sound alternative to traditional industrial cleaning methods. This article explores three different industrial thermal cleaning applications: deoiling, decontamination and decommissioning.

Wisconsin Oven Corp. designed, built and shipped an electrically heated conveyor oven with forced air cool-down to an automotive manufacturer. The oven will be used for tempering automotive parts and features a chain-style conveyor system with vertical pins. It has a maximum temperature rating of 500°F (260°C) and interior chamber dimensions of 3 feet, 6 inches wide x 20 feet, 10 inches long x 9 inches high. Guaranteed temperature uniformity of ±2.5°C at 163°C was documented with a temperature uniformity test. The recirculation system is designed with a top-down, bottom-up airflow configuration.

Wisconsin Oven Corp., a manufacturer of industrial ovens, appointed Jeff Kent to the position of general manager. Kent has been with Wisconsin Oven for more than 35 years. His experience encompasses all areas of manufacturing and sales within the company. Kent’s previous positions include QA manager, vice president of sales and marketing, vice president of operations, executive vice president and, most recently, director of sales and service. As general manager, he will oversee all local functions of Wisconsin Oven.

The Government of Canada invested over $9 million in aerospace manufacturer Cyclone Manufacturing Inc. This investment, through the Aerospace Regional Recovery Initiative, will help Mississauga-based Cyclone expand all four of its facilities in Ontario in order to become more productive and competitive. The expansions will include a heat-treatment oven at its Milton facility and a temperature-controlled production area at one of its three Mississauga facilities. These improvements will allow Cyclone to become more productive and competitive while allowing the company to add more environmentally friendly technologies. This project will support 110 jobs in the region and enhance Cyclone’s ability to create new and larger parts.

Vista Metals Georgia broke ground on a $30 million expansion project at its Adairsville manufacturing facility. The expansion follows the completion and launch of its sixth cast house in spring 2021 and represents the second phase of the company’s nearly $100 million long-range capital plan, which includes the installation of its seventh aluminum cast house, melting furnaces, homogenizing ovens and support equipment.

As part of an expansion and reorganization of its parts manufacturing and fabrication areas, Duncan Aviation created a new division called Duncan Manufacturing Solutions (DMS). The company invested more than $4 million in the 21,000-square-foot DMS facility, which was built adjacent to its Turbine Engine Overhaul Shop in Lincoln, Neb. The company added more equipment to supplement its previous capabilities and machinery to allow for heat treatment, CNC milling, waterjet cutting, metal pressing and engraving. DMS brought heat-treating capabilities in-house with the addition of two industrial ovens capable of heat treating aluminum, stainless steel, tool steel and titanium.

JPW Industrial Ovens & Furnaces has been designing and manufacturing industrial ovens for start-up companies in the electric vehicle (EV) industry for several years. However, requests have been more frequent and more specific as of late. President Mike Jameson believes he knows the reason.

“Mainstream automakers from around the globe are noticing that electric vehicles are the future,” Jameson said. “While the smaller start-ups have been researching, testing and creating electric vehicles for years, the well-known automakers want to make sure their hats are tossed in the ring as they notice the demand from potential customers steadily increasing.”

Wisconsin Oven shipped an electrically heated horizontal quench system to the defense industry. It will be used for the solution treatment and aging of aluminum. The maximum temperature for this oven is 1100°F, and the normal operating temperature is 985°F. The overall dimensions are 14 feet, 6 inches wide x 17 feet, 6 inches high x 27 feet long, while the interior chamber dimensions are 7 feet wide x 3 feet, 6 inches high x 3 feet long. The system, which has a maximum 7-second quench delay, proved to be in compliance with AMS 2750F pyrometry requirements for class 2 furnaces prior to and after shipment from Wisconsin Oven’s manufacturing facility in East Troy, Wis.

Given the thousands of boilers, furnaces and ovens currently in use worldwide, the potential of a combustion system malfunctioning is ever-present, especially as these systems grow in scale and complexity. Add to this a single-point failure, and an unqualified operator could inadvertently render a critical fuel system inoperable.

Thermcraft started doing business in January 1971 from a small warehouse space in downtown Winston-Salem, N.C. From that small startup operation, Thermcraft has progressively grown into an international manufacturer of thermal-processing equipment. The company offers industrial and laboratory furnaces, ovens, high-temperature heating elements, insulation and replacement parts. Thermcraft now resides in a 70,000-square-foot manufacturing and office space located just a few miles from its original location in Winston-Salem, where it all began 50 years ago.