How to Make a Cartridge Heater

Cartridge heaters are thin tubular heating units used for the internal heating of machine and process components such as platens, dies and dies, and sealing strips. The heater consists of a hollow metal tube with a wire-wound resistive heating element embedded in an insulating compound. A thermocouple or controller powers the heater element through a set of wires coming from one end of the tube. The cartridge heater is inserted into a tight-fitting hole in the material and, once activated, heats from the inside. Cartridge heaters are available as swaged or unswaged, and come in a variety of sizes and power ratings. Resistance wire winding machine.

Machine or process components such as embossing platens, thermoplastic dies and extrusion dies require heating to function properly, and in most cases this is best done internally. Cartridge heaters are the devices commonly used to achieve this internal heating and are integrated directly into the body of the relevant component. Cartridge heaters consist of a heat-conducting metal tube with a hollow center and a cap at one end. A resistive heating element is wrapped around an insulating core (usually ceramic compound) and placed in a metal tube. The space between the heating element and the tube is then filled with powder, such as magnesium oxide, by means of an MGO powder filling machine, making the element electrically insulating but thermally conductive.