Materials

Introduction to Carbon Fiber & Composites

Composite materials are formed from thin carbon fiber strands held in hard resin matrices to make super strong and light parts for cars, planes, and more. Because carbon fibers are light but can be stronger than steel, are exceptionally stiff, and offer corrosion resistance and low thermal expansion, these composite materials are invaluable in products across the world.

Composite manufacturing depends heavily on thermal consistency. During curing and thermal processing, even small temperature variations can affect resin flow, bonding strength, dimensional stability, and final part performance. Furthermore, inconsistent heating can create uneven curing, trapped moisture, resin defects, warping, or incomplete bonding between layers.

As composite materials like carbon fiber continue expanding across aerospace, transportation, robotics, energy, and industrial manufacturing, thermal precision becomes increasingly important for maintaining repeatable production quality.

Control Concepts’ SCR power controllers help manufacturers maintain accurate and repeatable thermal conditions in demanding heating applications to create advanced materials, including carbon nanotubes, carbon fiber, and graphite.

Unlike mechanical contactors that rapidly switch heaters ON and OFF, SCR controllers regulate power proportionally, allowing heating systems to respond more smoothly while maintaining tighter thermal control inside ovens and autoclaves. As a result, SCR controllers enable accurate ramp and soak profiles for curing.

Supported Applications

Every composite manufacturing process behaves differently depending on resin chemistry, cure profile, thermal mass, airflow, and heating configuration. Control Concepts SCR controllers support applications such as:

• Material manufacturing, including graphite and graphene
• Carbon fiber manufacturing and processing
• Composite curing ovens
• Autoclave heating systems
• Resin curing systems
• Aerospace composite manufacturing
• Prepreg material processing
• Vacuum thermal processing
• Composite bonding systems
• High-performance materials manufacturing
• Advanced industrial composite applications

SCR Power Controllers for This Industry

Features such as soft-start capability, current limiting, advanced diagnostics, and precise firing control help improve operational stability across demanding composite manufacturing and curing applications. Control Concepts recommends the following ultra-precise SCR power controllers for this industry.

Model	Firing Mode	Voltage	Current Range	Digital Capability
MicroFUSION single phase	Phase Angle Zero Cross	24–690 VAC	8–400A AC	EtherNet/IP Modbus TCP PROFINET
MicroFUSION three phase	Phase Angle Zero Cross Transformer Mode	24–690 VAC	16–400A AC	EtherNet/IP Modbus TCP PROFINET

Engineering Support for Carbon Fiber and Composites Applications

Control Concepts works directly with furnace OEMs to optimize SCR power control solutions for composite applications. Our team of engineering experts can size your SCR, support multi-zone heating, optimize your temperature profile, evaluate transformer loads, troubleshoot, and more. Contact us to learn how we can power your process.

What are Ceramics?

Ceramics are widely-used, engineered materials designed to fit an application’s needs, whether hardness, thermal stability, rigidity, electrical insulation, thermal insulation, or other features are key considerations.

Technical industries use ceramics in bearings, circuits, sensors, transducers, heat sinks, and even as dielectrics in capacitors. Ceramics are also used medically to reduce friction and increase longevity in joint replacements. Dental ceramics likewise provide hard, stain-resistant dental crowns, veneers, and more.

Ceramics are usually extremely hard for wear-resistance, chemically inert and anti-corrosive at high temperatures, and offer varying electrical conductivity, including insulation, semi-conductivity, or super-conductivity. Ceramics may be engineered to provide thermal stability in extreme environments sometimes exceeding 1500°C. Examples of ceramics include silicon nitride, tungsten carbide, and many more.

Ceramics start as fine grains and are molded with binders into “green bodies,” initial shapes that are easy to mold. Next, the green bodies are baked at a lower temperature to eliminate moisture before the firing process. During firing, the ceramics are held in a high-temperature (up to 3000°C) kiln for hours or even days as sintering takes place. After sintering is complete, the finished ceramic may be milled to correct any shrinkage.

Sintering
The process in which ceramic grains partially melt and fuse together into a solid structure while driving out any binder materials.

During sintering, even small temperature inconsistencies can cause cracking and affect density, strength, surface quality, and final product performance. Additionally, kilns often run for extended, possibly days-long cycles in which temperature stability must remain consistent without placing unnecessary stress on heating elements or transformers.

As a result, modern kilns and thermal systems depend on the precise power regulation offered by SCR power controllers.

Control Concepts SCR power controllers help manufacturers maintain accurate thermal profiles across demanding high-temperature processes, enabling the creation of advanced ceramics for a wide range of applications.

Unlike mechanical contactors that repeatedly switch heaters fully ON and OFF, SCR controllers regulate power proportionally. This creates smoother thermal behavior and tighter process control inside kilns and furnaces.

Supported Applications

Ceramics kilns often operate at extremely high temperatures while requiring carefully controlled ramp and soak profiles. Many systems also involve sensitive materials that react quickly to thermal fluctuation. Control Concepts SCR controllers support applications such as:

• Industrial ceramic kilns
• Technical ceramics manufacturing
• Refractory production
• Calcining systems
• Ceramic matrix composite production
• Research furnaces
• Autoclave de-waxing and core-leaching

SCR Power Controllers for Kilns and Advanced Thermal Systems

High-temperature kiln systems often involve transformer-coupled loads, multi-zone heating, silicon carbide elements, molybdenum disilicide heaters, and specialized resistance heating systems. Control Concepts recommends the following SCR power controllers for demanding thermal processing environments.

Features such as soft-start capability, current limiting, advanced diagnostics, and precise firing control help improve long-term furnace reliability while protecting thermal equipment from electrical stress.

Model	Firing Mode	Voltage	Current Range	Digital Capability
ATOM single phase	Phase Angle Zero Cross	24-600 VAC	16-65A AC	EtherNet/IP Modbus TCP PROFINET
ATOM three phase	Phase Angle Zero Cross	24–600 VAC	16–80A AC	EtherNet/IP Modbus TCP PROFINET
MicroFUSION single phase	Phase Angle Zero Cross	24–690 VAC	8–400A AC	EtherNet/IP Modbus TCP PROFINET
MicroFUSION three phase	Phase Angle Zero Cross	24–690 VAC	8–400A AC	EtherNet/IP Modbus TCP PROFINET
FUSION Single Phase AC	Phase Angle Zero Cross	24–600 VAC	500–1200A AC	EtherNet/IP Modbus TCP PROFINET

Engineering Support for Thermal Systems

Advanced ceramic and specialty metal production continues to grow across aerospace, electronics, medical, semiconductor, and energy industries. Many of these applications require increasingly tighter thermal tolerances and more advanced process control capabilities.

Control Concepts works directly with OEMs and kiln manufacturers to optimize SCR power control solutions for ceramics kilns. Our team of engineering experts can size your SCR, support multi-zone heating, optimize your firing profile, evaluate transformer loads, troubleshoot, and more. Contact us to learn how we can power your process.