An industrial band heater uses metal filament encased in a protective covering. Then, they take electricity and convert it into heat. An industrial band heater creates useful heat energy that is transferred to another object using either conduction or convection. Conduction takes place when the heating band directly contacts the object it is heating. Convection takes place when the heating element does not have to be touching the surface it is heating, but it can still produce a reliable amount of heat. In the plastics industry, a mica band heater is one of the most common examples. This is a conductive heating source that uses thermal energy to heat an exterior steel surface. This is a reliable, advantageous source of heat with numerous applications.