Infra-red system dries non-slip coating for mats

A carbon infra-red system is helping a manufacturer to achieve the quality of non-slip coating required on disposable tray mats to meet the stringent demands of passenger airlines.

A carbon infra-red system from Heraeus Noblelight, of Neston, is helping Orvec International to achieve the quality of non-slip coating required on disposable tray mats to meet the stringent demands of major passenger airlines.

Orvec International is a world leader in the design and manufacture of hazard protective workwear and passenger care products.

Its range of disposable tray mats can be in paper or crepe, coated and uncoated and printed to a very high standard.

When the Kingston-upon-Hull company recently decided to introduce a new range of non-slip tray mats to meet the specifications of a major airline, a new manufacturing line was set up and the manufacturing technology was adapted to allow an extremely high quality non-slip coating to be applied.

The process required infa-red radiation treatment at high speeds and Orvec contacted Heraeus, who carried out proving trials at its Applications Centre in Neston.

These established that a carbon infra-red system could achieve the required result at web speeds of up to 70m/min and, as a result, a full-size system was installed at Orvec.

This consists of two, 20.7kW carbon infra-red cassettes, each containing nine, 2.3kW carbon infra-red medium wave emitters.

The cassettes can be operated individually by means of a closed loop thyristor control system to ensure precise drying profiles.

Since installation, the infra-red system has proved to be highly energy-efficient and its high power density has ensured that the applied coating is treated effectively to give a high quality finish.

The fast response of carbon infra-red has also proved important in this application, as the heating can be switched off very rapidly if needs be, so preventing any damage to the web in the event of production line breakdown.

Following successful operation of the system over a number of months, Orvec decided to see if line speeds could be increased even more, to meet rising customer demand for the non-slip trays.

Accordingly, a 7kW carbon infra-red was retrofitted and this has allowed a further 30% improvement.

Heraeus Noblelight, part of the multi-national Heraeus Group, specialises in the production and application of high quality energy sources covering the entire electromagnetic spectrum, from ultra-violet to infra-red.

It has over 40 years experience in infra-red technology and offers the expertise, products and systems to provide efficient and effective solutions to drying, heating and curing problems throughout industry.

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