Paint drying ovens: features and uses

Paint drying ovens: characteristics and uses

Paint drying ovens are machines used in factories to dry or treat paints and enamels on various types of materials, such as metal, plastic or resin. Depending on the case, these machines act on the paint, allowing it to dry, hardening its surface and optimising the final result.

In this article, we will have a closer look at what paint drying ovens are and their uses. Finally, we will present the features and advantages of DBM Tecnologie paint drying and treatment systems.

Paint drying ovens: what they are   

As we were saying, paint ovens are used to dry or treat paint applied to objects, products and components. The processes can be different. Let's see them all.

Drying (or baking) ovens are designed to quickly evaporate water or solvent from the paint. These machines speed up the drying phase and reduce processing times. This is particularly useful for water-based paints, which require longer drying times than solvent-based paints.

• Polymerization ovens, instead, are designed to allow the paints to reach a specific and adjustable temperature, to trigger the chemical reaction known as polymerization. The process leads to the formation of a hard, durable film, which increases the life of the paint.
• Flash-off ovens are machines that allow the slow evaporation of solvents from the paint, eliminating defects, bubbles or imperfections on the painted surface.

The choice of oven type and process varies depending on the industry and use, as we will see in the following sections. 

Uses of paint drying ovens 

Let us begin by discussing the areas of application of ovens used for paints baking, polymerization or flash-off. These machines are frequently used in the following sectors:

• eyewear, to achieve a flawless finish on plastic or metal frames. Paint drying ovens operate at different temperatures and for different exposure times, adapting to the characteristics and resistance/reaction to heat of different materials.
• automotive industry, to give the paint a higher resistance to atmospheric agents and wear thanks to polymerization. In the case of DBM Tecnologie, customers in the automotive sector use our paint treatment ovens for small components.
• luxury and fashion, for drying paints applied to shoes, bags, jewellery, buckles, buttons and other accessories. This is a fairly recent application that responds to the fashion industry's need to always explore new creative possibilities. 

Proposing solutions for ever-changing businesses and sectors is crucial. Our company has made this element a strong point, also in the production of paint drying ovens.

DBM Tecnologie solutions:

According to customer's needs, DBM technologies considers different elements starting from the design and the construction phase. Let us look at them together.

• Insulation and construction materials. Depending on the temperature to be reached, our drying and paint treatment systems are constructed by using different materials: e.g. Aluzink (an alloy of aluminium and zinc), Isopan panels, stainless steel. In addition, our ovens can be insulated with rock wool, fibreglass, Isopan or ceramic fibre.
• Structure. DBM paint ovens are divided into chamber ovens, designed to contain large workpiece trolleys, or cabinet ovens, to be used for smaller sized pieces placed on trays or overlapping grids.
• Opening system. DBM Tecnologie offers front-opening or counter opposing-opening ovens. The latter type is also used in clean rooms: the pieces to be dried or treated are loaded into the chamber and discharged outside without compromising the characteristics of the controlled inner atmosphere.

Some of the DBM ovens also feature a PLC system for advanced and automatic temperature and heating control, connected to a touch screen operator panel. 

Our company designs and manufactures both static and automatic painting ovens. 

• DBM Tecnologie static painting ovens allow optimising consumption, saving energy and maintaining a homogeneous internal temperature. These features are usually designed for large installations. But our ovens are also available for companies with smaller production needs.
• Automatic ovens we design and manufacture are in great demand also by large companies in the fashion and eyewear industry. Workpiece carrying rods transport the objects or components arriving from the painting plant into the oven, so to be dried and baked. These machines are designed for companies that have to handle a large quantity of pieces and want to be able to work in a cycle without interrupting the painting cadence, as they do not have to handle trolleys.

Are you looking for the paint drying and polymerization oven best suited to your production needs? Contact the DBM technical team and ask us for more information!