Infrared Application of the Month #1:
Drying Adhesive on Aluminum Foil
A manufacturer's line produced an aluminum honeycomb composite foil, using a hot air system to dry adhesive onto the foil. Replacng the hot air system with a short wave infrared system from Heraeus provided more homogeneous drying of the adhesive. Reducing process air lessened the need for "scrubbing" as well.
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Infrared Application of the Month #2:
Heating Car Windows to Improve Foam Adherence
Hot air blowers were used as a heating source in an application in which polyurethane foam was applied ot the edges of automobile winows. The manufacturer replaced the blowers with fast mediumwave infrared technology from Heraeus. The new system eliminated scrap, increased production by 10% and afforded better adherence of the PU foam. What's more, the new system alowed all window sizes to be processed in the same oven.
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Tech Center Spotlight:
Short Wave NIR Heaters
Shortwave single tube NIR heaters from Heraeus are suited for situations requring high temperatures in the shortest possible time. And because these Heraeus NIR lamps are manufactured in standard configuration designs, matching the right heater to your application is a snap. These heaters offer high radiation density in a small area; optimized reflection; practically no heating-up and cooling-down times; and a long list of other advantages.
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Special Designs:
Watercooled Heater
Heraeus designed a special twin tube lamp heater with one water cooled channel. This heater type transfers a large amount of energy (more than a million watts per square meter) in a very short time. Temperatures of more than 1000°C on the surface of the product can be achieved within seconds. Popular applications include coil coating, edge coating on wood, and surface sealing.
A wide assortment of other special design heaters is available from Heraeus. Click HERE for details.
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Technical Learning: Introduction to IR Technology, Part 2
History of infrared process heating
Electric infrared process heating is not a new technique. It has been in use -- in one form or another -- for over half a century. But only in recent years have a wide choice of radiant heat sources - infrared heaters - become available.
The term infrared heating as applied to industrial heating processes originated in the late 1930s when experiments took place in the use of heat radiation produced by commercial lighting bulbs fitted with special external reflectors.
The technique was very successful for curing the new synthetic resin enamels on car bodies, so it was applied to production lines. Carbon-filament lamps were used at first, and later tungsten-filament lamps with internal reflectors. In each case the lamps were rated to operate at a reduced filament temperature. As the reduction in filament temperature had the effect of moving the peak wavelength of the emitted radiation further into the infrared portion of the spectrum, it was logical to differentiate between lamp bulbs used for lighting and those used for heating by calling the latter infrared lamps and the process in which they were used infrared heating. The early lamp systems were only capable of providing power intensities in the order of 5 kW/ m2; modern designs can provide up to 105 kW/ m2, and with improved directional properties. When other types of even more powerful radiant heat source were later developed (e.g. linear quartz lamps and metal sheathed elements), the term infrared heating was retained.
This undoubtedly had some commercial value in persuading industrialists to investigate this heating process in relation to their own problems. As a result, industry has enjoyed significant savings in time and money. The concept of the infrared oven became firmly established. Infrared heaters, reflective walls, roof and floor, together with entrapped warm air were combined to optimize the heating of a wide range of products, including three-dimensional shapes. Infrared heating has proved its worth over many years, having evolved into a sophisticated industrial tool to become an acknowledged and indispensable branch of engineering practice.
Coming in the next issue: Intro to IR Technology, Part 3.
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That's it for this month's issue of Application Notes for IR Heating. Feel free to encourage your colleagues to subscribe. Just click HERE to send them an invitation to subscribe. It's quick, easy, FREE, and no-obligation.
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