LEWCO Designs Industrial Oven for Obsolete Military Explosives

SANDUSKY, OH – LEWCO, Inc. recently completed construction on a custom industrial oven for a highly specialized military application used to thermally treat energetics remaining in obsolete military explosives. Our customer, a defense contractor specializing in advanced technology including nuclear energy, is the world’s leading resource for high-tech systems ranging from the nuclear fuel cycle to electromagnetic systems, remotely operated surveillance aircraft, airborne sensors, and advanced electronic, wireless and laser technologies.

LEWCO engineers developed a high-temperature drum heating system that accurately and efficiently heats and cools the customer’s materials in a 24-hour cycle.  Due to the nature of the product, a heavy plate construction was used to comply with explosion resistance specifications.  The control system had to accurately control temperatures and communicate with a central control room and a pollution control system.

Another unique feature was a fume collection system for the drums in the oven.  The materials being heated produce an off-gas that must be collected and exhausted to a pollution abatement system.  LEWCO worked together with the customer’s engineers to design a drum venting manifold suitable for the high-temperature atmosphere.

Prior to shipment the oven successfully underwent three full days of rigorous factory acceptance testing, performed by both LEWCO engineers and the customer.   According to Senior Applications Engineer, Lou Schaefer; “The project was a success all the way from the initial solution proposal through design and manufacturing.  This was a very unique application with extremely tight specifications and safety requirements.  We worked very closely with their engineers to develop the best solution for the process.”