Microwave (MW)

ETAC helps businesses evaluate and test applications of microwave drying, heating and curing technology that can benefit their manufacturing processes.

• About Microwave
• Industrial Uses of Microwave
• How Microwave Can Benefit Your Business
• Learn about ETAC's microwave specialists: Joe Cresko, Neal R. Griffing, Eugene Hoffman, Preston L. Roberts and Dr. Mike Vasilik.
• Send a question to an ETAC microwave expert. ETAC experts will answer microwave questions every Tuesday, or sooner if necessary.

About Microwave

Direct heating of material by microwave energy can increase production rates, improve product quality and reduce total energy costs. Conventional heating methods conduct heat from the surface of the material inward toward the center. These methods tend to be slow and inefficient with materials that do not conduct heat well, such as rubber, ceramics and certain chemicals.

Industrial Uses of Microwave
Microwave technology is a quick, energy-efficient method of heating those materials that are difficult to heat using convection ovens or infrared technology. Industrial uses include:

• Thawing and tempering of meat, fish and poultry prior to processing.
• Curing of seamless rubber gaskets, moldings and strips.
• Curing of adhesives for plywood and construction lumber.
• Bonding composite sheets for the automotive and aerospace industries.
• Cooking of food products.

How Microwave Technology Can Benefit Your Business
There are several ways that microwave technology may benefit your process or product including:

• Achieve faster and more uniform heat penetration than with typical conductive methods.
• Avoid product degradation that may result from conventional heating methods.
• Selectively heat products with varying rates of heat absorption.
• Do away with warm up or cool down, as microwave heating units have instant on/off.
• Achieve greater energy efficiency than with conventional heating methods.
• Combine microwave with conventional heating or drying to decrease processing time.
• Use less floor space due to the compact size of the equipment.

To learn more about how microwave technology can benefit your business, contact us.