Product Overview
A multi-zone Solar Products IR oven system divides the radiant heat into independently controlled zones across the oven width and length, so the temperature profile can be tuned station by station rather than run as one block of heat. Each zone is a built-to-order medium-wave panel (F, FBA, Q, T, M, G, or V face) proportioned by an SCR power controller and held by a PID temperature loop. This is how a thermoforming or curing line gets an even, repeatable profile across a wide web or a series of process stages. Use the input form to tell us the number of zones, the control points, and whether you read panel or product temperature, and the system is built to match.
Related Solar Products infrared panel options
Custom OEM IR Panels — a single engineered panel built to drawing
Legacy Panel Retrofit — drop-in replacement of aged or obsolete panels
F & FBA Series — quartz-composite-face panels — the thermoforming workhorse
Q Series — opaque-quartz face — fast response for paint & powder curing
Key Features & Benefits
- Tune the profile zone by zone — multiple independently controlled zones let the heat be shaped across the oven width and length, so a wide web or a multi-station line runs an even, repeatable profile instead of one uniform block of heat. Control where the energy goes, not just how much.
- SCR proportioning with PID, per zone — each zone is held by an SCR power controller proportioning continuously and a PID loop reading panel or product temperature, which suits the fast response of radiant panels. Tight, responsive control on every station.
- Read the product, not just the panel — a pyrometer view port through the heater lets a non-contact sensor read product temperature directly, and a replaceable Type-K thermocouple is available for panel feedback (both in the option list in the specifications). Close the loop on the workpiece where it matters.
- Built for wide webs and forced air — parallelogram modules zone radiant heat across wide webs, and back-mounted fans or through-face air holes add forced-air flow and fast cool-down where the process needs it. Designed around real production geometry, not a flat panel grid.
- One integrated system from the panel maker — the panels, the zoning, and the SCR/PID controls are specified together by Solar Products rather than assembled from separate suppliers. The heat and its control engineered as one.
Specifications
- Operating principle
- Electric radiant heating — a panel with an electrically heated emitter face radiates infrared energy directly onto the product or web, rather than warming the surrounding air the way a convection heater does. Because the energy lands on the surface, the part absorbs it directly while the surrounding air stays comparatively cool.
- Infrared band / wavelength
- Medium-wave infrared. Infrared energy is emitted across a spread of wavelengths set by the emitter temperature; the medium-wave band is well matched to the surface absorption of many plastics, coatings, paints, and organic materials, so the energy is converted to heat at the surface rather than passing through or reflecting away.
- Emitter / face construction
- Built to order in the Solar Products panel series, each face tuned to a different combination of wavelength, watt density, and response time: F and FBA — quartz-composite face (FBA is the F face drilled for forced-air through-flow); Q — opaque fused-quartz face for fast response; T — quartz tubes; M — metal face (hardcoat-anodized aluminum or porcelain steel); G — high-temperature black glass (neoceram glass-ceramic) face; V — stamped-element medium-wave panel. The face is chosen from the substrate, process temperature, and response the application needs.
- Response & control behavior
- Radiant panels respond quickly — turn the panel down and the radiant output drops almost immediately — which makes them well suited to proportional control. The opaque-quartz Q face is the fast-response option for processes such as paint and powder curing.
- Panel geometry & sizing
- Built to drawing — panel dimensions, footprint, and emitter layout are specified per job to match the oven zone or fixture. Parallelogram modules are available for zoning radiant heat across wide webs. Panel depth runs from 1¼″ to 6″ (3″ typical), set by the available space and the required back-temperature. Published fixed plan dimensions are not specified; the panel is sized to the application.
- Mounting / installation
- Configured to the fixture: ¼-20 mounting studs, stainless-steel housing or no housing (heater board only), with wire-lead or junction-box termination. Mounting and standoff are set so the radiant output reaches the workpiece at the intended distance.
- Watt density
- Watt density (watts per square inch of panel face) is matched to the substrate and the required heat-up — high enough to raise the product to temperature at the line speed, low enough that the substrate is not scorched. It is the governing selection factor and is set per application; a published fixed value is not specified.
- Wavelength / material matching
- The emitter face and wavelength are matched to the target material’s absorption: the right wavelength is absorbed at the surface and converted to heat efficiently, while the wrong wavelength wastes energy heating the air or the oven instead of the part. Solar Products specifies the series from the substrate, process temperature, and line speed.
- Voltage
- Voltages to 600 V, configured to the available service.
- Zone control
- Integrated control is available: an SCR power controller proportioning each zone continuously, a PID temperature loop reading panel or product temperature, and multiple independently controlled zones so the heat profile can be tuned across the oven width and length.
- Configurable options
- Solar Products is a custom IR-OEM & retrofit manufacturer, so the panel is built to the application. The documented configurable options are listed below.
Configurable Options on a Built-to-Order Solar Products Panel
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Custom SCR / PID zone controls | Proportional SCR power control with PID temperature loops, tuned to the process |
| Back-mounted fans | Pre-mounted forced-air fans behind the heater (the FBA face is drilled for through-flow) |
| Multi-zone heaters | Multiple independently controlled zones across the oven width and length |
| Pyrometer view port | A port through the heater for a non-contact pyrometer to read product temperature |
| Replaceable Type-K thermocouple | Field-replaceable Type-K thermocouple for panel or process temperature feedback |
| Cool-down / drying air holes | Air holes through the face for fast cool-down or drying-air scrubbing |
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Parallelogram modules | Parallelogram-shaped modules for zoning radiant heat across wide webs |
| Housing options | Stainless-steel housing, or no housing (heater board only) |
| Termination | Wire leads or an electrical junction box |
| Mounting | ¼-20 mounting studs |
| Voltage | Voltages to 600 V |
- Approvals & listings
- Solar Products is the Aspeq Infrared Division and, per the manufacturer, the largest manufacturer of custom infrared electric heaters for the OEM market, with over 60 years of infrared-heating experience. Panels are built to your drawing and integrated into OEM machinery and production lines. Panel radiant efficiency has been independently verified by Hydro-Québec’s LTEE certified test lab.
- Build & lead time
- Custom build-to-order — no published price list, quote-only. Lead times typically run about 3 to 14 weeks depending on configuration. The more complete the data up front (substrate, process temperature, line speed, oven dimensions, voltage), the faster and tighter the quote.
Common Applications
- Thermoforming ovens — independently zoned top and bottom heat
- Paint, powder-coating, and e-coat curing lines with staged profiles
- Screen-printing drying and curing tunnels
- Wide-web converting and laminating — profile control across the width
- Glass tempering furnace banks
- Multi-stage semiconductor and electronics process heating
Fit guide: a multi-zone system is the answer when one block of radiant heat will not hold the profile a wide web or a multi-stage process needs. For a single engineered panel, see custom IR panels; to replace aged panels in an existing oven bank, see legacy panel retrofit.
Design & Selection Considerations
- Count the zones the profile actually needs — more zones give finer profile control but more controllers and tuning; too few and a wide web or a multi-stage process develops hot and cold bands. Map the temperature profile the product needs across the oven before fixing the zone count. The zone map is a process decision, not a hardware afterthought.
- Decide what each zone measures — a PID loop is only as good as its feedback — panel temperature is simple and stable, product temperature (via a pyrometer view port) tracks the workpiece but needs a clear sightline and emissivity setting. Choose per zone what you read. Pick the control variable before you pick the sensor.
- Plan airflow and cool-down with the heat — forced air through FBA faces or through-face air holes evens convective conditions and speeds cool-down, but it also pulls heat from the zone — the wattage and the airflow have to be sized together. Air management is part of the thermal design, not a bolt-on.
- Match the watt density across zones to the substrate — each zone still has to respect what the substrate can take without scorching; a preheat zone and a soak zone may run very different watt densities on the same web. Set the density per zone from the material and the dwell. Uniform panels do not mean uniform watt density.
- Size the controls and the supply for staged loads — multiple SCR zones draw differently as they proportion; the panel, the SCR ratings, and the available voltage and phase (to 600 V) all have to add up. Use the input form to give us the service available with the zone plan. The electrical design follows the zone design.
To spec the right Solar Products multi-zone IR oven system:
Use the input form to send the target material (substrate) and its size, the process temperature, the line speed or dwell time, the oven-zone or fixture dimensions, the number of zones and your control points (reading panel or product temperature), and the available voltage and phase — and we’ll spec the right Solar Products panel series, wavelength, watt density, and zone control for your application.
Electric Heating Application Sheet ›Talk to an engineer directly — Scott Prater, Principal · 917-580-0878 · scott@pratertechnical.com
Specifications compiled by Prater Technical Partners from Aspeq Heating Group published product literature.