Infrared Application of the Month:
Embossing of Vinyl Flooring
A company that produces vinyl flooring sought an efficient heat source for the embossing stage of production. The company used infrared technology from another manufacturer, but believed the current method could be improved upon. They consulted Heraeus Noblelight and found that a new infrared system using fast response mediumwave infrared heaters provided better and more evenly-distributed heat absorption. The mediumwave infrared technology provides deeper and more consistent heating all the way through the vinyl sheet.
Click for more examples of IR for industry... [ Back to Top ]
Infrared Application of the Month:
Heating Insulation Sandwich Boards
A manufacturer of insulation board for construction use developed a new product, and needed to test the efficiency and durability of the boards. Working with the process heat experts at Heraeus Noblelight, they developed a testing oven that allowed sample boards to be subjected to extreme temperatures. Heraeus short wave infrared lamps with closed loop control provided the heat needed for the test oven. Height-adjustable temperature sensors allowed the testing of many different sizes and thicknesses of insulation board.
Click for more examples of IR for industry... [ Back to Top ]
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.
Read more about Shortwave NIR Heaters... [ Back to Top ]
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.
[ Back to Top ]
Technical Learning: Advantages of IR Technology, Part 2
High Speed and High Efficiency
As a result of the greater heating rates and the high degree of control available with electric IR process heating, most products can be heated much more rapidly than in a convection oven. Thus, it is possible to decrease the product's residence time in the heating unit and increase the throughput of products. This enables manufacturers to make better use of their production facilities.
For example, an electric IR oven can provide a high heating rate to cure paints (including hard-to-cure, water-based paints) in a fraction of the time required in a convection oven. High heating rates are possible for curing paint in an IR oven because the short-wave IR radiation may be partially transmitted through certain coatings to heat the substrate.
The times to heat various materials in both An electric IR oven can heat many materials far more quickly than can a convection. For example, for steel and aluminum, the time to heat 0.05 inch thick panels to 300°F (149°C) is more than six times faster in the electric IR oven.
For plastic and wood, the time differences are even more dramatic. The higher heating rate supplied by an IR oven causes the surface temperature to rise to 300°F (149°C) without fully heating the interior of the material. In a convection oven, it takes much longer to reach 300°F (149°C) because of the lower heating rate and because the product is heated throughout.
For curing a coating on plastic or wood, an IR oven has an advantage in that the coating can be heated to the curing temperature without appreciably heating the material in depth. Thus, a coating could be cured without overheating and damaging the material. Furthermore, the cool-down time would be less because the material would not be heated in depth.
Electric IR heating is capable of delivering a higher percentage of the input energy to the product than convection oven heating. Due to the higher efficiencies of the IR system, the per-product processing cost can be comparable to -- or lower than -- gas convection. Furthermore, the long preproduction heat-up times required for convection ovens waste energy that would, in an IR system, be put into heating the product. Electric IR heating is efficient because more heat is delivered to the product, not lost to the surrounding air and not up a flue.
to be continued in the next issue...
View more technical bulletins... [ Back to Top ]
View a variety of technical bulletins... [ Back to Top ]
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.
|
