Cremator
Cremator
A cremator is the purpose-built furnace or chamber in which a person who has died is cremated. It is the central piece of equipment within a Crematorium and is designed to use controlled heat to reduce the body to cremated remains.
The machine, not the building. A Crematorium is the facility where cremations take place. The cremator is the equipment inside that facility in which the actual cremation occurs.
A controlled process. A cremator is designed to maintain controlled temperatures and airflow so that the body can be cremated efficiently and safely. Modern cremators generally contain a primary chamber where the body is cremated and a secondary chamber where gases produced during the process are further combusted.
The coffin or casket enters the cremator. The person is normally cremated within their coffin or casket. Once the coffin or casket has been placed inside, the cremation process takes place without further intervention from the family.
It is not simply an oven. Although a cremator uses heat in a similar fundamental way to other furnaces, it is specifically designed for human cremation. It incorporates controlled combustion, temperature monitoring, airflow management and emissions control appropriate to the process.
The person is cremated individually. Cremations are carried out individually so that the cremated remains returned to a family are those resulting from that person’s cremation. Crematorium procedures also provide for the identification of the person throughout the process.
What happens afterwards. Once the cremation has finished and the cremator has cooled sufficiently, the remaining bone fragments are removed and processed in a Cremulator. The resulting material is what is commonly called Ashes or cremated remains.
Different cremators, same purpose. Cremators vary considerably in their design, size, automation and technology. Some are relatively simple systems, while modern facilities may incorporate sophisticated controls, filtration and emissions management. Their essential purpose remains the same: to safely and respectfully carry out the cremation of a person who has died.
A cremator is therefore the equipment in which the cremation takes place, rather than the crematorium itself or the cremation process.