Applications and Benefits of Industrial Electric Heaters
OEMs in various industries, including plastics packaging, rubber and plastics, aerospace, food and beverage, medical, and healthcare, require specialized heating solutions tailored to their specific applications and processes. While types of heaters produced by heater manufacturers vary widely, they are all designed to meet the unique demands and regulatory requirements of each industry.
Types of Heaters Used by OEMs in Various Industries
OEMs in various industries, including plastics packaging, rubber and plastics, aerospace, food and beverage, medical, and healthcare, require specialized heating solutions tailored to their specific applications and processes. While types of heaters produced by heater manufacturers vary widely, they are all designed to meet the unique demands and regulatory requirements of each industry.
Here, we are discussing the common heater types used in these sectors.
- Cartridge Heaters
- Application: Frequently used in injection molding, extrusion, and other processes requiring direct heating of molds and tooling.
- Description: These heaters are cylindrical and can be inserted into drilled holes within a machine component to provide localized heating. They are ideal for achieving high temperatures and efficient heat transfer.
- Industries: Plastics packaging, rubber and plastics, medical, and food and beverage
- Benefits: High heat density, precise temperature control, and efficient heat transfer. Used for applications requiring localized heating to ensure optimal processing and product quality.
- Flexible Silicone Rubber Heaters
- Application: Utilized where flexibility and conformability are needed, such as in molding processes and equipment that requires heating on uneven surfaces.
- Description: These heaters are made from flexible silicone materials, often integrated with etched foil or wire-wound heating elements, making them suitable for a wide range of configurations and temperature requirements.
- Industries: Medical, aerospace, and food and beverage
- Benefits: Highly flexible, moisture-resistant, and durable. They are ideal for heating curved or irregular surfaces, making them excellent for applications where heating uniformity and adaptability are crucial.
- Mica Strip Heaters
- Application: Commonly found in heating elements for industrial machinery and food processing equipment, including warming trays and cooking equipment.
- Description: Mica heaters provide surface heating and are effective for moderate-temperature applications, ensuring uniform heat distribution.
- Industries: Food and beverage, packaging, medical
- Benefits: Provide uniform surface heating, long service life, and efficient heat distribution. Ideal for applications requiring even heating over flat or irregular surfaces.
- Ceramic Heaters (either band or strip)
- Application: Used in applications demanding high temperatures, such as aerospace components and specialized food processing machinery.
- Description: These heaters are known for their energy efficiency at high temperatures, operating up to 1200°F (649°C), making them suitable for demanding industrial applications.
- Industries: Aerospace, food and beverage, medical, rubber and plastics
- Benefits: High heat efficiency, rapid temperature recovery, and superior durability. Their ability to operate at elevated temperatures makes them ideal for high-demand applications, including heat-sensitive materials and high-temperature processing.
- Drum or Box Heaters
- Application: Employed in various industries to maintain the temperature of large containers of materials, such as adhesives, sealants, or food products.
- Description: These heaters provide broad, uniform heating across large surfaces, ensuring that materials stored in drums or containers remain within the required temperature range for optimal performance.
- Industries: Food and beverage, chemical, medical, aerospace
- Benefits: Ensure even heating for large containers, prevent solidification or degradation of materials, and help maintain consistent processing conditions.
- Band Heaters
- Application: Commonly used in plastics packaging and rubber and plastics industries for heating barrels, die heads, and other cylindrical surfaces.
- Description: Band heaters are typically mounted around cylindrical surfaces, such as barrels or die heads, to provide consistent heat. They are available in mica, ceramic, or mineral-insulated designs, each offering different levels of efficiency, temperature control, and durability. Backer Marathon’s Starflex heater is one of the most efficient band heaters on the market. Band heaters ensure uniform heating in extrusion, injection molding, and blow molding operations.
- Industries: Plastics packaging, rubber and plastics
- Benefits: Efficient heat transfer, ease of installation, and long operational life. Suitable for high-temperature applications with minimal energy loss.
- Coil Heaters
- Application: Widely used in plastics packaging and rubber industries, particularly in hot runner systems, nozzle heating, and injection molding processes.
- Description: Coil heaters are high-performance heaters designed to wrap around injection nozzles or be inserted into dies and molds. They provide precise, concentrated heat to small areas, ensuring consistent material flow and optimal product quality.
- Industries: Plastics packaging, rubber and plastics
- Benefits: High watt-density output, fast heating response, flexible design for complex geometries. They enhance process efficiency by delivering heat exactly where it is needed, reducing material waste.
- Nozzle Heaters
- Application: Primarily used in plastics packaging and rubber and plastics industries for heating nozzles in injection molding machines to maintain the temperature of the material as it is injected into the mold.
- Description: Nozzle heaters are cylindrical heating elements specifically designed for maintaining constant temperatures in nozzles, ensuring that materials—such as molten plastic or rubber—do not solidify prematurely. They are highly efficient and prevent clogging in nozzle assemblies.
- Industries: Plastics packaging, rubber and plastics
- Benefits: Precise temperature control, energy efficiency, compact design, and enhanced durability for long production runs.
- Air Heaters
- Application: Found in a variety of industries, including food and beverage, aerospace, and medical, for applications requiring the heating of air, such as drying, sterilization, de-icing, packaging, and heat staking.
- Description: Air heaters are used to heat a flow of air or gases in processes like drying, curing, or sterilizing. In the aerospace industry, they are used in de-icing systems, while in the food and beverage sector, they ensure efficient drying or pasteurization of products. In medical applications, air heaters are used in sterilization equipment and patient warming systems.
- Industries: Food and beverage, aerospace, medical
- Benefits: High heat efficiency, rapid response time, uniform air heating, and adaptability to different applications requiring precise temperature control.
- Flexible Tubular Heaters
- Application: Utilized in the aerospace and medical industries, particularly in situations requiring complex, bendable heating elements for intricate heating applications such as de-icing, medical devices, or food processing equipment. They are also commonly used as hot runner manifold heaters heating the flows of polmer to the nozzles.
- Description: Flexible tubular heaters are versatile and can be shaped to fit into various configurations. They are often employed in aerospace for de-icing applications or heating sensitive equipment. In medical industries, they are used in warming systems for patients or fluids, and in food processing for maintaining optimal cooking or pasteurization temperatures.
- Industries: Aerospace, medical, food and beverage
- Benefits: Bendable, durable, and capable of heating irregular surfaces. Provides precise heat control and excellent performance in harsh environments or specialized applications.
Each of these heaters serves a critical role in their respective industries, ensuring operational efficiency, product quality, and safety. Manufacturers select them based on their heating needs, from precision medical equipment to large-scale industrial processes, to maintain the necessary temperatures for production and processing.
OEMs across industries such as plastics packaging, rubber and plastics, aerospace, food and beverage, and medical and healthcare require a broad range of traditional and advanced heating solutions to meet their specific manufacturing and processing needs and specific applications. By working closely with heater manufacturers, these companies can customize heating solutions tailored to their operation’s unique challenges, ensuring efficiency, safety, and compliance with industry standards. Understanding the variety of heaters available enables OEMs to make informed decisions that enhance their product quality and operational efficiency.
Why Backer Marathon
Backer Marathon is the industry leader in production speed, and reliable, quality heaters for plastics and packaging, serving OEMs with durable, customized solutions for unique heating needs since 1996. We design, manufacture, and stock industrial-grade heating elements and temperature sensors. Engineers have live, on-demand access via phone to our trained technical experts who have been pioneers in this sector for decades.
How can Backer Marathon’s experts help you today? Nosotros hablamos español. Contact us today to discuss your next project.