Case Study: Hatchable Preheat Oven for Ship Engine Shaft Couplings — K-450TL
Customer Background
| Company: | Multinational Ship Repair and Conversion Company |
| Part to be Preheated: | Ship Engine Shaft Couplings |
| Part Material: | Steel |
| Part Dimensions: | N/A |
| Part Weight: | 48 lbs |
| Target Preheating Temperature: | 350°F |
| Number of pieces to be heated at one time: | 1 |
| Required preheat time frame: | None specified |
Project Background
At Keen, we are committed to providing custom industrial ovens for a variety of parts preheating applications. We often receive requests from ship repair and conversion companies that need hatchable ovens, in other words, ovens that can fit through narrow hatches commonly found on today's ships. In this particular application, ship engineers were performing an engine overhaul that required the preheating of couplings ina n oven on location before bonding them to a shaft. The hatchable preheat oven needed to fit deep into the ship and be available while work was being performed in the engine room.
The engineers had one of our popular K-450 electrode ovens on the ship for welding electrode storage, and called us asking if it could be lengthened and reinforced at the back and placed upright so that it could fit in a tight space. We gladly reworked the standard oven design and made it a top-loading preheat oven, the K-450TL. The ship engineers had two types of couplings - one would be top-loaded into the oven, and one horizontally-loaded. A shelf was needed for the coupling that was loaded horizontally, and needed to be removable.
We apologize for not having more photos available of this custom oven, but it was a rush job and production packed and shipped it before the marketing department could take photos. For this particular parts preheating application we designed a custom industrial preheating oven from scratch and called it the K-450TL. To solve the unique logistical problem of installing the oven into the hull of a ship, our engineers tack welded ring and pad eyes on the front of the frame so the custom oven could be lowered through a series of hatches into the hull of the ship where the engine room was located.
The width of our standard K-450 already allowed the oven to fit through ship hatches, so we were already set in that respect. The oven just now needed to be lengthened to accommodate the couplings. Also, the element on our standard K-450 rests at the bottom of the oven (when horizontal) so we needed to change the wiring design and element location to the rear of the oven (when horizontal) or bottom of the oven (when vertical). We strive to solve unique parts preheating challenges for our clients. The K-450TL custom oven is useful for a variety of purposes, not just for ship engine couplings. The temperature range can be modified for any application. A dial-adjustable analog thermostat was installed for this oven but we can use different controls to suit a variety of applications.
K-450TL Industrial Oven Specifications
| Shelving Style: | Perforated Steel - One Lower Shelf / One Upper Shelf |
| Temperature Control: | Analog Dial-Adjustable |
| Voltage: | 240V |
| Cycle: | 50 or 60 |
| Wattage: | 1,100 Watts |
| Thermometer: | None |
| On/Off Light: | Yes |
| Insulation: | 2" |
| Thermostat Temp Range: | Ambient-550F |
| Interior Dims: | 19.5" Diameter x 20.5" Deep |
| Net Weight: | 125 lbs. |
| Shipping Weight: | 175 lbs. |
Oven Construction
Exterior
This is a round, barrel style industrial oven that can be positioned vertically or horizontally. The oven has a steel reinforced base onto which an analog-style adjustable dial thermostat is mounted. No digital controls were necessary for this oven because the ship engineers just wanted to leave the K-450TL oven on all the time at one specific temperature. This dial thermostat is our standard analog unit with a 150F-550F temperature adjustment range. It's important to note that the door hinges on this custom oven are tack welded to the oven frame and not screw mounted. This allows for a long product life. Always beware of any industrial ovens that do not have welded hinges. This oven is powder-coated - as with all our ovens - at our in-house paint facility and is highly durable for a wide variety of industrial settings.
Interior
The K-450TL custom oven is constructed of carbon steel and is insulated throughout. It has a 1000W heating element installed at the back/bottom of the oven behind a perforated steel grate to prevent the ship bearing from coming in direct contact with the element, but at the same time to allow the heat to radiate into the oven chamber. There were no shelves installed this oven due to interior dimension constraints, and because the ship engineers needed all of the available space inside the preheat oven to preheat the bearing. The interior of the K-450TL preheating oven is painted with a reflective, galvanized paint and the interior welds are touched up with high-temperature aluminum paint. All our preheating ovens are made in the USA and feature a 1-year limited manufacturer's warranty. Parts are readily available.
Design And Build Your Own Custom Industrial And Welding Ovens
Each customer often has a specific process that requires the heat treating of parts, components or materials prior to assembly. Their parts are unique in size and shape, and a customized heat treatment oven specific to the part and application is often the only solution to streamline the process. Keen is your solution.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can this hatchable oven be modified for other applications?
Yes, absolutely. Many of our custom ovens have resulted from client requests to modify an existing oven they have seen on our website, or to one of our standard welding electrode ovens that a client may be using for welding applications. The process usually begins like this: a client finds one of our ovens that has an interior size close to what can accommodate the parts that need to be preheated, and then inquires if modifications can be done. Our engineers get to work to provide suggestions to the client as to what modifications can be done. If the modifications are not suitable, we design a new oven from scratch to fit the users needs.
What is a preheat oven?
We use the term preheat oven to describe an oven that is used for preheating parts before they are used in some type of application. Most of our preheat ovens are custom-designed according to the specific application being performed by a client. Many processes require the preheating of weldments before they are bonded to some other type of metal. This preheating is required to change the property of the metal part and enable it to be installed onto another part. Our ovens are used in many applications. The K-450TL hatchable oven used on ships is just one example. We have designed ovens for bowl shafts, cylinder heads, cylinder blocks, military tank transmissions and for many other types of parts.
Do you provide CAD drawings for review?
Yes. Keen's custom oven design process typically begins with a discussion of the various solutions we are able to provide to the client. If the client wants to proceed, we then do a CAD drawing for review that clearly outlines the custom oven design for the client to review.
Do you manufacture gas-fired ovens?
No. We only manufacture electrical ovens with a maximum temperature range of 1000°F
Are your products made in USA?
Yes. We manufacture our ovens in Louisiana.
How long have you been in business?
Henkel Enterprises, LLC, manufacturer of the Keen brand of welding ovens, flux ovens, and custom preheat ovens has been in business since 1923.
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