Delta H®/Phillips Federal recently commissioned a composite oven at Edwards Air Force Base, California, for advanced materials applications R&D. The specially designed walk-in oven has a load volume of 8ft x 8ft x 15ft and is operable to 450°F. Additional features include electric heat, oversize recirculation air blower for assuring Class 1 uniformity of +/- 5°F, oversized exhaust blower for rapid cooling, and a vacuum supply and monitoring system.
Delta H initially designed and engineered the walk-in oven using SolidWorks 3D modeling and developed the project as a “kit oven” for easy field assembly. After preassembly of key subsystems at Delta H’s Carroll, Ohio, facility, the system was shipped to Edwards AFB. The entire field assembly project required two weeks including commissioning and extensive training of USAF personnel. After several months of operation, operators report flawless performance.
The primary controller is a Eurotherm Nanodac programmer/recorder which provides part temperature (cascade) control and a data acquisition system for up to 12 part thermocouples. The Nanodac automatically selects a representative part temperature and adjusts air temperature to create sufficient thermal head for precisely increasing the part temperatures at the desired rate (typically 1°F to 3°F per minute to a soak temperature). Following the soak time, the oven systematically engages the exhaust blower and fresh air vents for rapid cooling – so that operators can quickly unload and prepare the next batch of parts.
“The USAF and all of our military branches must be ready at a moment’s notice,” said Phillips Federal product manager, USAF Retired, SMSgt, John (JD) Murray. “Maintaining that level of readiness is only achieved by employing high quality and extremely reliable equipment. Phillips Federal is proud to partner with Delta H, in fielding reliable, extremely accurate furnaces to meet the most stringent industry and military standards. It is our honor to serve the fighting men and women of the US Armed Forces and provide them with best equipment possible to ensure we meet our enemies full force and face to face.”
“This is our third system at Edwards AFB and always a thrill to serve the USAF at this historic facility,” said Delta H director/CTO Richard Conway. “From our humble beginnings through our evolution of providing cutting edge military aviation thermal processing solutions to our warfighters, it is something our Delta H team is very proud of. We are especially thankful for our tremendous relationship with Phillips Federal for making this and many other projects possible.”
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