Batch Oven Rack With Vertical Gaps For Uniform Heating
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current batch processing ovens face limitations in increasing heating and cooling ramp rates while maintaining temperature uniformity, leading to potential damage and reduced product yield due to thermal stress and uneven heating.
Innovation Solution
The design includes a processing chamber with a rack configuration that allows for vertical gaps between substrates and panels, utilizing inlet and exhaust dissipaters with strategically positioned gas ports, and a control system with thermocouples to manage gas flow and temperature, along with external heaters and flow baffles to enhance heat transfer and uniformity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the heating ramp rate is increased to decrease processing time and increase throughput, then productivity is improved, but temperature uniformity deteriorates causing thermal stress and damage to substrates
Solution Approach 1:
The processing chamber is divided into multiple heating zones with independently controllable heating elements. Each zone can be heated at different rates and to different temperatures, allowing the system to increase overall throughput while maintaining temperature uniformity across substrates by coordinating the heating of individual zones.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the processing chamber are equipped with localized heating control. The heating elements are positioned to provide targeted heating to specific areas, enabling faster ramp rates in certain zones while maintaining uniform temperature distribution across the entire substrate area through differential control.
2Duration of action of moving object
If the heating ramp rate is increased to reduce processing time, then duration of action is improved, but thermal stress on substrates increases causing damage
Solution Approach 1:
The heating system is segmented into multiple independently controlled zones that can be heated at different rates. This allows the processing time to be reduced by heating zones in parallel while controlling thermal stress by adjusting the heating rate of each individual zone based on substrate position and thermal sensitivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The heating system dynamically adjusts the heating rate of different zones during the processing cycle. The control system monitors temperature distribution and automatically modulates the heating power to maintain optimal ramp rates that minimize thermal stress while achieving the desired processing time.
3Productivity
If the cooling ramp rate is increased to decrease processing time, then productivity is improved, but temperature uniformity deteriorates causing uneven cooling
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system is divided into multiple independently controllable cooling zones corresponding to the heating zones. Each cooling zone can be activated at different rates and to different extents, allowing the system to reduce overall processing time while maintaining uniform temperature distribution across substrates during cooling.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the processing chamber have localized cooling control capabilities. The cooling system can apply different cooling rates to different zones, enabling faster overall cooling while preventing thermal gradients and uneven cooling across substrates through region-specific adjustment.
4Productivity
If the temperature ramp rate is increased to increase throughput, then productivity is improved, but product yield deteriorates due to damage and uneven processing
Solution Approach 1:
The processing chamber is segmented into multiple independently controlled zones that can operate at different temperature ramp rates. This allows the system to increase throughput by processing multiple substrates in parallel while maintaining high product yield by optimizing the temperature profile for each zone based on substrate requirements and position.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically changes temperature parameters including ramp rate, peak temperature, and dwell time for different zones. By adjusting these parameters independently in each zone, the system achieves higher throughput while maintaining the temperature conditions necessary for high product yield and preventing damage.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration enables faster heating and cooling rates while maintaining temperature uniformity across substrates, reducing thermal stress and improving product yield by optimizing gas flow and heat transfer through the use of thermocouples and strategically positioned heating elements.
Implementation Method 1
The inlet dissipater may be configured to direct a gas into the processing chamber... directing a flow of a hot gas into the processing chamber to heat the plurality of substrates
Implementation Method 2
The exhaust dissipater may be configured to exhaust the gas from the processing chamber
Implementation Method 3
a control system with thermocouples to manage gas flow and temperature
Implementation Method 4
external heaters and flow baffles to enhance heat transfer and uniformity
Data Source
AI summary
A batch processing oven comprising a processing chamber and a rack configured to be positioned in the processing chamber. The rack is configured to support a plurality of substrates and a plurality of panels in a stacked manner such that one or more substrates of the plurality of substrates are positioned between at least one pair of adjacent panels of the plurality panels. Vertical gaps separate each substrate of the one or more substrates from an adjacent substrate or panel on either side of the substrate.