Laboratory Ovens
Laboratory Ovens are typically used in the lab for various functions, as such there are a variety of ovens that a user would need to consider before making their choice. For example, the most simple natural convection oven, is use for drying applications that requires gentle airflow such as for baking, conditioning, curing, pre-heating and aging. It also serves to do thermal storage tasks as well as sterilization. Apart from the standard applications, It can also be used to perform material testing for instance, to determine tensile strength, deformation, and resiliency of a product.
Apart from the natural convection oven, there is also the forced convection oven, as well as vacuum oven, each built with their unique specific uses for various types of applications.
Forced convection oven, are built with a fan inside the wall of the oven which forces the hot air in the oven to circulate throughout, it is typically used in procedures involving cultures and samples where accurately controlled uniform heating is required.
Vacuum ovens are used where materials would be damaged if exposed to high temperature, it removes moisture but also avoids oxidation or explosion which can occur when certain materials combine with air and usually used for hydroscopic and heat sensitive materials.
The most economical option are Natural convection ovens. Fan assisted convection ovens, also known as Forced Convection Ovens, are able to achieve greater temperature uniformity and offer faster recovery rates. A Furnace would the best for extremely high temperature applications.
In some cases, laboratory ovens are used for unique applications especially for users from the biological, forensic and environmental labs. Here are some examples of how the natural sciences utilizes ovens to advance the pace of research:
- Vacuum ovens with specific configurations as fingerprint development chambers in Forensic Laboratories
- In Biological Laboratories, Gravity Convection Ovens are used for removal of microbiological contaminants in lab wares and Vacuum Ovens are used for adhering substrates to the surface of filters and other media
- Environmental Laboratories need to determine the moisture content of a sample. In order to obtain this, users will dry their specimens in laboratory ovens and calculate the difference of the sample’s weight before and after the drying process. Gravity convection and forced-air ovens are used for such application.
Different Types of Lab Ovens & Furnace
- Gravity Convection Oven
- Forced Convection Oven
- Natural Convection Oven
- Vacuum Oven
- Side Draught Ovens
- Muffle/Ashing Furnaces
- Chamber Furnaces
- Tube Furnaces