An oven for baking a batch of parts has a housing having side walls and a top wall defining a closed container with a closed top end and an open downwardly facing bottom end. Loading/unloading occurs at the bottom end onto a carriage raised to the top end where baking occurs. On each side is provided an array of heating elements below the top. A shield is located in front of the heating array so as to block direct radiation onto the parts to prevent over-heating as the carrying arrangement passes the heating array to be unloaded. The shield generates an upwardly flowing air stream to carry the heat to the top. The heating elements are mounted with their lower end in a connection box with a collar and insulated heat shield above the box to keep the electrical connections cooled.