When I say a short note – I mean, this will actually be short!
In what is a common theme on this blog, this question is one of those ones that should seem easy, but is deceivingly complex. On the surface, this seems elementary – if a SiC heating element in your dental sintering oven burns out, you just replace it, right?
One of the regular questions we get is, “who are you?” This is a fair question, as, to be honest, we are just another company on the Internet. That said, we are neither some bot nor some advanced AI (although the latter would be awesome, but why would an AI devote itself to selling heating elements for dental sintering furnaces…).
One of the more common things we see with customer furnaces is the use of double shank holders to hold the heating elements in the furnace. As shown in the picture above, the double shank holder is the white ceramic clamp that holds the two legs (shanks) of the element, keeping it from falling into the furnace.
If the MoSi2 (sometimes called Super) elements for your dental sintering furnace look like the above picture, don’t panic – what you are seeing is a normal build-up of natural Silica oxide on the surface of the element.
If the Silicon Carbide heating elements in your dental sintering furnace look like the ones pictured above, full stop, you have a problem.
The other day, I had a customer send me the following picture (shown on right).
One of the more common questions we receive is, “why does it take so long to get MoSi2 and SiC heating elements?” We understand that the wait can be frustrating, especially since often times, the lead times can stretch from 4-6 weeks depending on how busy the factory is at the time of order. As a customer, this may come across as needless waiting at best, and at worst, a lack of care for your situation – maybe even poor planning.
This guide is intended as a companion post to our [YouTube video explaining the same](/resources). I recommend you give that video a watch and then read this guide for a full picture of what is involved in installing MoSi2 heating elements in your dental sintering furnace.
One of the more common issues we see with MoSi2 heating elements is improper insertion length into the furnace cavity. Often times, there really isn’t an instruction manual that comes with elements explaining how to properly assemble the heating element into the furnace. Given the high cost of heating elements, it is worth this quick read to make sure that you are installing your elements properly, and in turn, getting the best life from them possible.
Earlier this year, I wrote an article for _[The Journal of Dental Technology](https://nadl.org/journal-dental-technology/)_ titled Making Friends with Your Sintering Oven Heating Elements. If you read that article – and stayed awake until the end – you will know that it was a quick primer on the care and feeding of MoSi2 elements – the often U-shaped elements found in many dental Zirconia sintering furnaces (maybe even the one sitting in your lab). These elements are generally the modern choice when it comes to dental sintering furnace design, but there certainly are other elements being used in the market by various manufacturers.
We have all had that moment – where the essential tool in the shop or office suddenly needs a replacement something-or-other that costs a surprising amount of money. As someone with a hobby habit (to put it lightly),my personal essentials range from the relatively esoteric – cutting tools/blades (looking at you, planing knives) to one of the usual suspects – desktop printer ink.
Dental Furnace Elements LLC
17621 Narragansett Avenue
Lakewood, OH 44107
Phone
(844) 683-3682