Thermoforming. How-to guide.
INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL INFRARED SYSTEMS DESIGNED FOR YOUR APPLICATION
Infrared tunnels are a proven technological solution for heat treatment of different materials. Their use significantly increases productivity and quality of the produced products. They are used for various types of material treatment such as heating, coating, vulcanizing and drying. In this article, we will look at what infrared tunnels are for, how to choose the optimal model and what you need to pay attention to when using them.
How do they work?
Infrared tunnel is a specialized equipment that works on the principle of infrared radiation. This means that it generates infrared radiation that directly heats objects. They are used to heat and cure various materials such as plastic, rubber, silicone, etc.
Energy saving
One of the main advantages of using infrared tunnels is the energy savings. They use much less energy than other types of ovens, such as convection ovens. They heat up much faster, which saves time and increases production capacity. The heating power can be adjusted to perfectly match the technological process requirements, thus, preventing excessive electricity consumption.
Precise temperature control
Uniform heating of objects is achieved because infrared tunnels have independent temperature zones and precise temperature control. They make it possible to regulate the temperature inside the tunnel in order to ensure that the material is heated evenly. This gives higher production efficiency, product quality and less waste.
Ease of use
Infrared tunnels are very easy to use. Their rapid heating makes it possible to process the materials quickly. In addition, they are compact and can be easily installed anywhere. The modular architecture of the infrared tunnels from Eurolinia allows the addition or removal of tunnel’s sections, allowing the adjustments to the production capacity and allowing the separation of one tunnel into several independent systems.
Durability
All our infrared tunnels use original Eurolinia ceramic heating elements (ICH). They are durable, affordable, CE certified and comply to all international standards, which means that you can replace them with elements from other manufacturers if you wish. All elements carry a 1 year warranty, but can work for many years if not damaged and cleaned from time to time.
Various types of materials can be processed
Infrared tunnels can be used for different kinds of material treatment such as heating, vulcanizing, drying and curing. Depending on the material used and the desired processing operation, it is possible to adjust the tunnel’s settings for the needed application. Specially programmed heating scenarios are already built into the software settings of each tunnel according to the customer’s needs.
Production and environmental safety
Infrared tunnels are environmentally friendly because they do not use substances or gases that are harmful to the environment, as is the case with other types of IR equipment. They are protected from overheating and pose no fire hazard. The Eurolinia infrared tunnels also have a unique pneumatic lift system which is triggered if overheating of the material or other type of emergency occurs, thus instantly cutting off the heat and allowing adjustments to be made or simply to reload the new material into the infrared tunnel.
Length of the IR tunnel
The length of the IR tunnel is the main factor in determining the performance of the production line. It depends on the size/diameter of the materials to be processed and the speed at which they pass through the IR tunnel. The larger the volume of the material, the higher the temperature needs to be, and slower moving speeds are the only option. One infrared tunnel can treat materials with different characteristics, only the speed of material passing through the tunnel will change. All Eurolinia tunnels are modular, so you can add sections if you want to increase the production capacity or remove sections if you need the opposite or want to create another independent IR tunnel. Eurolinia IR tunnels can be a equipped with special double- or triple-pass rollers which allow the cable or wire to pass two or three times through the tunnel, thus doubling or tripling the time spent inside the tunnel.
Temperature inside the IR tunnel
The temperature inside an infrared tunnel is of course a key parameter. Its settings depend on the type of material and on the technological process that is required. Some materials, such as glass, may require high temperatures, while other materials, such as plastic or silicon shell, can be processed at lower temperatures. Some materials also require an initial shock heat treatment, for this purpose, a shock tunnel with high processing temperatures (650-750C) is installed before the main IR tunnel. The rest of the IR tunnel is usually used to stabilize material inside the tunnel at 300-400C.
Infrared tunnels are ideal for heat treatment of materials that require rapid and uniform heating with precise temperature control. When choosing an infrared tunnel, it is necessary to consider the type of material, the required operating temperature and the desired production capacity. All of these factors must be evaluated to select the proper model, and subsequently get a high quality product. At Eurolinia, our engineering team, first of all, listens to the customer and thoroughly evaluates his or her production process in order to suggest the IR setup that will perfectly match given manufacturing needs.
Made by Eurolinia
And last but not least, all Eurolinia infrared tunnels are built from scratch at our production facility in Minsk. That’s why we can ensure that each and every part combined together works perfectly and lasts for many years. Each system is carefully planned to match the requirements of your particular process. Experienced engineers and individual approach allows us to create the ultimate infrared machines!