Radio Frequency (RF) heating and Post-Baking (also known as dielectric heating) is not a new technology and has

been successfully used in bakeries for over 40 years now. During this time, there have been significant and continual advances in the design of the equipment. These developments have improved the quality and reliability of the RF ovens out of all recognition from the early machines which were renowned for being temperamental and difficult to maintain. Today's machines, when correctly designed, operated and maintained are now considered by users to be some of the most reliable machines in the bakery. For many years now, improvements in conventional oven designs and burner controls have been heavily marketed as solving the traditional problem of product checking, thereby offering the possibility of eliminating the need for RF post-baking. However, in reality, as line widths have increased, variations in product moisture uniformity between the centre and edges of the conventional baking band have shown little, if any, improvement over the years. Checking Have you ever purchased a packet of biscuits from the local supermarket and moaned about the fact that a large number of them were broken? Usually, this breakage is not caused mechanically (i.e. by dropping the packet, it is due to a phenomenon called product checking. Checking arises due to the build-up of stresses in the product piece. These stresses are caused by differential moisture content between the outer surface and the centre bone of the biscuit. Conventional bake-ovens utilise indirect heating methods. Heat is transferred to the material surface only, by virtue of conduction, convection or radiation. This means the heat energy has to pass from the surface by conduction to the interior of the product. Often this can present a problem, because the material itself is a good insulator and as such, it is difficult to get the heat to penetrate to the centre of the product. Therefore the surface dries out, whilst the core or centre of the piece remains high in moisture. (For more details see references 1, 2 andHow Does RF Heating Work? The Basic Theory RF heaters are similar to microwave ovens where products (food, biscuits, paper, textiles etc) passing through the oven (heater), are subjected to a direct or volumetric heating process in the form of a radio frequency (RF) energy source. In the simplest form of RF applicator, the material to be heated is placed between two metal plates which form an electrical capacitor (see Fig. 1). The material becomes a 'lossy' dielectric (hence the alternative name of 'Dielectric Heating') and absorbs energy from the RF Generator which is connected across the two plates (known as

'electrodes').

Industrial Microwave heating and Industrial Radio Frequency heating are well established technologies for industrial process heating. They have typically been used in applications with demanding requirements such as close temperature tolerances or processing in specialized environments. Traditional process heating has relied on natural gas or steam derived from oil or coal fired boilers. In the past, these have been the most economical methods with conventional electric heat being considerably more expensive. Environmental regulations are forcing a shift in this paradigm. The cost per BTU of heat will continue to rise as fuel prices increase. However, what fuel is used, how efficiently it is applied and the amount of carbon released at the user determine the ultimate cost. Microwave or RF heating offers the user a multitude of advantages in the changing world of process heating. Microwave and RF heating are efficient. Unlike other methods (including electric) the heat required for the process is developed within the processed materials themselves. The losses incurred in transferring the energy into the product are very low. Microwave and RF energy are capable of penetrating materials of poor thermal conductivity. Instead of prolonged heating in a conventional system waiting for external heat to "soak" into the product, heating begins immediately through the entire product as soon as power is applied. This dramatically reduces energy usage by shortening process times and eliminating the need to keep the energy input to the system at process levels when not needed. Virtually no warm-up is required. In many applications Microwave and RF energy can be targeted at a specific component or material within a product producing heat only where it is needed through a process known as selective heating. Industrial Microwave and Industrial Radio Frequency equipment emit no greenhouse gasses whereby eliminating the need for air quality monitoring, fines and penalties from outdated or malfunctioning combustion systems. Not all industrial heating applications are suitable for Industrial Microwave or Radio Frequency technology, but for many, it offers more heat on target, faster and with less energy usage than any other method. David Lesser is the owner of Thermex Thermatron, LP, manufacturer and supplier of industrial RF, heat sealing and microwave systems. Learn more at http://www.thermex-thermatron.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_Lesser

There are two main types of electric motors. There are direct current or DC and alternating current or AC motors. The reference of DC or AC refers to how the electrical current is transferred through and from the motor. Both types of motors have different functions and uses. Dc motors come in two general types. They can have brushes or be brushless. AC motors, as well, come in two different types. They can be two phase or three phase. The differences in DC and AC motors are sometimes subtle, but these differences are what make one types better for a certain use. Direct current or DC electric motors work for situations where speed needs to be controlled. DC motors have a stable and continuous current. DC motors were the first and earliest motors used. They were found, however, to not be as good at producing power over long lengths. Electric companies found using DC motors to generate electric did not work because the power was lost as the electric was transmitted. Brush DC motors use rings that conduct the current and form the magnetic drive that powers the rotor. Brushless DC motors use a switch to produce the magnetic drive that powers the rotor. Direct current motors are often found in appliances around the home. Alternating current or AC electric motors are used differently based on what type of AC motor it is. Single phase AC motors are known as general purpose motors. They work well in many different situations. These AC motors work great for systems that are hard to start because they need a lot of power up front. Three phase, also called polyphase, AC motors are usually found in industrial settings. These motors also have high starting power build transmit lower levels of overall power. AC power gets its name from the fact that it alternates in power. The amount of power given off by an AC motor is determined by the amount of power needed to operate the system. DC and AC electric motors are found everywhere from the home to the car to industrial plants. Motors are important to everyday life. Dc motors were introduced and caused a great revolution in the way many things are done. When AC motors came on the market the way motors were looked at changed because of their amazing starting power potential. DC motors and AC motors are different in many ways, but they still both are usede to power the world.