Econoclave ® designed to meet your requirement

ASC has designed and built hundreds of Econoclaves® for buyers looking for an exact fit to their part load requirements, pressure requirements, temperature requirements, and performance criteria. If you can't find a standard model that fits your size requirement, please fill out our Custom Autoclave Request Form (see tab above) and a sales engineers will contact you to discuss your requirements.

When the Econoclave ® might not be the best choice

The Econoclave ® design is usually the best choice for the composite autoclave buyer because it offers great performance and great value. With the Econoclave ® design, you are assured of getting the most capable autoclave in the world: high quality, high performance, low energy & nitrogen usage, and reduced cost of ownership now and in the future.

Nevertheless, there are a couple of circumstances when the Econoclave ® concept is not the best solution, and in these cases ASC will design and build a conventional annular-air-duct autoclave to satisfy the buyer's needs. When is the Econoclave not the best choice?:

1.) When a customer is curing or processing a large-diameter ( > 10 ft. or 3m) cylindrical part, the design of the autoclave might require that the floor be completely eliminated (rail loading only) so that the part is able to fit. In this case, ASC would normally suggest a conventional annular-ducted autoclave. The reason for this is that the Econoclave ® utilizes the under-floor area (or side area in GLS Econoclaves) to fit the cooling radiator and heater. If the floor is eliminated, then there is no room for these items and they will have to be placed at the rear of the autoclave (conventional). This will increase the overall width (air-duct) and length (heater, cooling, and transition) of the pressure vessel and will result in an increase in price and overall operation costs in the future. Note: In cases where the part diameter is not very large, ASC will still recommend an Econoclave design. We would merely increase the diameter of the equipment slightly to accommodate the part. This choice still represents an overall better value than a conventional autoclave.

2.) In cases where the overall part and tooling load is large and the required heating and cooling rates are high and the autoclave length is limited, ASC might not be able to fit the necessary heaters and cooling radiators below the floor. In this specific case ASC will probably suggest a conventional autoclave design.

Please click on the "Request Form" tab above to configure a custom autoclave to meet your needs.