A Cure for Curing Ovens

If a fine level of temperature control is not maintained, a number of costly problems can arise, including smoke pollution, color distortion of the painted part, and excessive energy consumption.

Making fine adjustments for a particular task and within a specific manufacturing environment has in the past been as much art as science. No one is more keenly aware of this than Evansvillebased George Koch Sons, one of the country’s leading designers and manufacturers of curing ovens. That’s why the company is working closely with Dr. Jayathi Murthy, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University, to create oven design software that incorporates the latest advances in computational fluid dynamics, flow, reaction, and thermal modeling.

With support from the 21st Century Research and Technology Fund, Dr. Murthy is leading the HOTPAK project, which is developing software that promises to transform the industry: "Our software allows a designer working at a PC to easily create the geometry of an oven, simulate the manufacturing environment, and figure temperature variations needed to cure specific parts properly. This brings a large dose of science to an industry that previously was heavily dependent on individual expertise."

Tom Neeley, Senior Technical Engineer for George Koch Sons, agrees that the technology has tremendous benefits: "Even with years of practical experience and best practices, we still encountered unwelcome surprises. Now that we can visualize what happens inside an oven, we can perfect the design before it is built and avoid retrofitting-a huge cost savings." In addition to making Koch more competitive, advanced oven design will also benefit a wide range of Indiana companies that employ curing ovens. Eventually, the technology may also be adapted for other manufacturing areas as diverse as computer chips and the food industry.