Infrared Application of the Month #1:
Drying Water-based Adhesive for Shoes
A manufacturer of athletic shoes for worldwide distribution required process heat to a final step in manufacturing: applying the graphic mark to the shoes. The previous method -- ceramic heaters -- applied temperature unevenly, resulting in erratic performance and results. Mediumwave infrared heaters from Heraeus Noblelight provided excellent temperature control and power savings via Heraeus heaters' quick heat-up and cool-down properties.
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Infrared Application of the Month #2:
Heating Specialty Metals
A manufacturer of specialty metal products for industrial and high-technology applications required an efficient means of providing process heat to a new application. The experts at Heraeus Noblelight worked with the manufacturer to develop a modular system using water-cooled shortwave QRC heaters and a precise control system. Benefits include fast heating and high stability of the heating lamps.
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Tech Center Spotlight:
Short Wave NIR Heaters
Shortwave single tube NIR heaters from Heraeus are suited for situations requiring 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:
Hybrid Carbon/Shortwave Heaters
Heraeus Noblelight's hybrid Carbon/Shortwave heater offers all of the benefits of Carbon and Shortwave heaters using Heraeus' proven twin-tube design. This infrared heater combines a carbon heater and a short wave infrared heater in the proven quartz glass twin tube.
For more on Hybrid Heaters, click HERE.
A wide assortment of other special design heaters is available from Heraeus. Click HERE for details.
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Technical Learning Q&A: A Comparison of Convection vs. Infrared
Part 1 of 3
Q: How does heat transfer differ between convection and IR?
A: Convection can only be controlled by air temperature and airspeed. With infrared emitters, a far greater flexibility in heat up rates and temperatures can be achieved using different energy densities and wavelengths.
Q: How do the technologies compare with regard to energy efficiency?
A: Convection can waste a lot of energy when switching from large to small components. Infrared emitters can target energy specifically to areas that require heating.
Q: How long are the reaction times of the heating systems?
A: With a convection oven, reaction time may take 30 minutes to 2 hours depending on the size of the oven, so an oven will be left running all-day even when there is no production. Infrared emitters can be switched on and off within seconds to suit production conditions.
Q: How does mass affect the heat-up rate?
A: In convection oven the heat up rates will be influenced by mass (number) of components. Infrared is an "energy source" and is not influenced by the number of components in the oven.
Q: How much space is required?
A: Convection takes up a large amount of floor space. Infrared is much more compact, typically 1/4 to 1/3 the space.
Q: What maintenance costs are associated with each technology?
A: Convection requires frequent maintenance (fans, filters, pipes, seals, burners) and full maintenance normally requires a complete strip down of the oven. Infrared systems typically require only minor maintenance (e.g. changing of emitters or filters).
Q: How is temperature controlled when parameters change?
A: For convection ovens it takes a long time to reduce or raise the air temperature to suit changing line conditions. IR emitters can be regulated instantly to changing conditions; a closed loop control via speed or temperature is possible.
Continued in next month's newsletter...
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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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