Case Study: Illinois Tool Works Food Equipment Group designs a smart microwave oven with COMSOL Multiphysics

Illinois Tool Works improves microwave oven energy delivery with COMSOL simulation applications

The customer, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) Food Equipment Group, faced the challenge of designing a smart commercial microwave/convection oven with solid-state technology. Their goal was to create an appliance that could heat food more uniformly and efficiently than traditional magnetron-based ovens under varied load conditions. To achieve this, they turned to the vendor, Comsol, and utilized its COMSOL Multiphysics® software and add-on RF Module for multiphysics simulation.

Comsol's solution enabled ITW's engineers to perform coupled electromagnetics and thermal simulations to analyze heating patterns, uniformity, and efficiency before physical testing. By building simulation applications, Comsol also allowed a wider team to interact with the design. The results included a highly efficient oven design that maintains performance across different food loads, significantly reduced experimental costs by minimizing trial-and-error, and improved cooking uniformity through optimized heating configurations.

Illinois Tool Works (itw) Food Equipment Group