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Ceramicx will be represented by our German Distributor Friedr. Freek at this week’s K-Show. This is the first time in many years Ceramicx will not be sharing the stand with Freek. We encourage you to visit their stand and discuss any enquires you may have about infrared heating.

Freek with novelties at K 2019

German-based heating element specialist Friedr. Freek presents three novelties at K-Show from 16. to 23. October in Duesseldorf. Their square cartridge heaters, alternative nozzle heaters as well as their systematic selection and optimization procedure for IR heat work applications convince by numerous mechanical, economic and ecological advantages (hall 11 / A01).

Energy savings through systematically selected infrared heaters and optimized heat work set-ups

Energy efficiency is a particularly important topic for infrared emitters. If an unsuitable emitter is selected, zoning is not appropriate or distance to target material too far a large part of the energy input could easily left untapped, hence be wasted.

To thoroughly understand the significant influence those and other parameters have on the effectiveness of infrared heat work, IR heating specialist and long-term Freek partner Ceramicx back in 2015 developed and utilizes their unique IR test robot HERSCHEL, besides other useful test rigs. How such a selection and optimization procedure is gone through and which further adjusting screws Ceramicx has discovered in their scientifically accompanied IR research and what’s more, how all this found its way into Ceramicx’ products, Freek is happy to show and demonstrate by the example of products and test reports on their K show stand, hall 11, A01.

We wish them a successful and enjoyable exhibition!

Please contact Freek or visit their website for more information on their stand and team.

In the last issue of our in-house magazine, Heatworks 20, we told you all about our newly constructed facilities here at Ceramicx. While they’ll keep us at the forefront of the advancement of infrared heating, our update and expansion plans continue as we get ready to launch our new look website and logo.

Giving a clear identity

Over the last 25 years, our logo has evolved with us, and we’re now ready to add a new version. But as we’ve been working on the website, logo, and general refresh of our online presence, we’ve made the distinction between our customer and market differences.

As our infrared heating solutions become a more prevalent part of our business, we want to share more of our engineering and infrared capabilities, together with case studies of our systems. Just as importantly, we also want to continue to be your one stop shop for all infrared components, parts, and systems well into the future.

As such, we’re launching two new websites with new logos and fresh straplines, giving both a clear identity: Ceramicx infrared for industry with its green logo, and Ceramicx infrared industrial solutions with its red counterpart.

Brand evolution.

The site and logo changes now give a clear distinction between the core areas of our business. But they also show our brand evolution and growth as a company and underline our commitment to giving customer satisfaction in every area.

Of course, we couldn’t have done it all on our own. Working alongside our in-house design and marketing team, the team at D2 Creative design agency did a fantastic job for us. Together with the websites, you’ll also see all the new branding online and offline in our advertising, packaging, and everything Ceramicx related over the next few months.

The main purpose for this post is to tell you about the new changes, so you won’t be too surprised when the websites look a little different on your browser. We’re really pleased with the results and we hope you like them as much as we do.

With our continued close connections to Trinity College Dublin (TCD) – and the engineering work of Professor Tony Robinson in particular – we’ve been reminded recently of some of Tony’s pro-bono heat work.

A number of years ago, Tony’s small engineering research team designed and developed an inexpensive, simple, and robust biomass cookstove. Made specifically for the people of rural Malawi – where most of the population live without access to electricity – the technology behind it allowed for a small portion of its heat to be converted into usable electric power.

More efficient than traditional open fires being used, it also slows down deforestation and CO² production, and improves people’s health and safety. Locally made, the now branded ‘µPower (pronounced ‘empower’) Cookstove’ has become a valuable asset, allowing the Malawi people to charge mobile phones, LED lanterns, and radios – all while preparing daily meals.

We also recalled that our own Herschel test instrument – a now integral part of the Ceramicx Centre for Infrared Innovation – was developed and engineered by the TCD team in the same test rooms as Tony’s innovative Cookstove.

Taking positive action

But as many of us are involved in the day-to-day business of commerce and manufacturing, we can often become indifferent to the general good that our products and services can provide to the wider world.

All it takes is a small shift in perception which can lead to positive action being taken – and suddenly the world is improved. Exemplary pro bono activities such as Tony’s prove that clear and simple heat science can change lives and whole communities for the better – and sometimes radically.

We still take great encouragement from Tony’s project and from all serious innovation in infrared energy and heat work. At Ceramicx, we firmly believe that our work with infrared energy can make a positive difference to the world – and for the general good.

Infrared business is environmental business and now, when saving resources and energy for a sustainable, low-carbon future, it’s more important than ever.

You may recall our pioneering work with Belfast Metropolitan from some time ago when we developed a new type of drape forming machine for the global composites industry. Today, the Ceramicx Vector Drape Former is complete and fully operational, providing a working solution for out-of-autoclave production.

Following a soft launch at the triennial plastics exhibition, K 2016, in Düsseldorf, the Vector Drape Former achieved its global launch at JEC World in 2017, the leading show for the composites industry.

Much as Ceramicx is familiar with the issues involved in core thermoforming plastic production processes, it was at JEC 2017 – in the heartland of composites technology – that the Vector Drape Former would be judged on its potential success.

Innovation when it’s needed

In thermoforming, the need for composite materials to be produced with greater process speed, efficiency, and decreased energy consumption is now more apparent than ever. The Vector Drape Former comprehensively answers those needs and is benefits many manufacturing sections in the automotive, aerospace, transport and construction industries.

Looking at the innovation and technology behind the Vector Drape Former, we’re reminded of the maxim ‘make what you can sell, don’t sell what you can make’. In essence, at Ceramicx we have no business being ahead of our time.

From day one, Ceramicx has kept a steady eye on the horizon, not only for the composites technology used in the Vector Drape Former, but for where infrared technology is headed for the next decade or more.

True innovation answers the needs of the present moment. Those needs, for the composites manufacturing sector at least, are clear for all to see.

As an independent, national centre for the world-class design and manufacture of composites, our latest client’s testing production capabilities were already meeting multi-sector demands. With the growth of dry fabric infusion in the aerospace industry, they now needed an innovative solution to increase composite testing, offer significant savings, and set new industry benchmarks.

In the industry, there has been a move away from traditional prepreg and autoclaves, to dry fabric infusion. An essential step in infusing dry fabrics is ‘pre-forming’ – a process using heat to activate a binder in the dry fabric to produce a semi-structural ‘pre-form’. This method has seen increasing growth in aerospace structures, specifically in the manufacture of stringers, the structural supports within an aircraft wing that prevents buckling and bending under compression.

As an industry leader in the design and manufacture of infrared heating systems, Ceramicx have developed an extensive knowledge of the aerospace industry, with the necessary experience of heating composite products, including the curing of thermoset resins. We custom-built the IR oven with its own 12-zone heat control system–optimising the oven for efficiency and appropriate processing parameters.

Fast-response, quartz halogen heaters were chosen for their emitter type due to the extensive data generated with them for heating carbon composite materials. Their geometric and relative arrangement was based on extensive R&D of heating composites to give the best performance. By easily selecting and deselecting relevant zones, the oven provides adjustability for different stringer shapes and lengths.

Click here to read more about this carbon fiber heating system.

Following the success of Ceramicx at Chinaplas 2018, we have great pleasure in reporting that GSAE is now offering a full suite of IR heating services to our customers in China.

This move will complement our work in sales of elements into China. It will also assist GSAE to fully demonstrate Ceramicx products in a way that will give confidence and data to builders of machines and IR heating systems in China.

The newly built test room at GSAE China is now ready for launch and utilization. The new room at GSAE currently contain a total of three types of heater, Ceramicx IR componentry, data and other IR heating resources.

Pride of place is given to a new Ceramicx test oven, which can be equipped with three different interchangeable IR sources – short, medium and long wave. This oven also uses PLC control and is mainly used to heat test a variety of different target materials under differences of temperature, power and distance from the heat source.

A tube heating based oven and a closed IR heating oven are also provided by GSAE for further test work on behalf of GSAE’s Ceramicx customers.

The Chinaplas 2018 exhibition confirmed a trend that China is increasingly eyeing the build of turnkey systems – including the creation and supply of complete ovens and platens. Ceramicx intends that our company hardware and IR know-how become integral to that drive.

GSAE’s new test centre will further assist us in our ambitions to service the industry and will also help Ceramicx with ambitions to offer even more care and know-how to their customers. Every company that visits the GSAE test centre will be given a full set of test data together with tailored-made GSAE suggestions and recommendations for the improvement of their heat work.

In short, Ceramicx is delighted to celebrate another landmark in our Chinese marketplace. We send congratulations to our distributor, GSAE, and to our commercial agent Xu Shan in making this happen.

The customer knew they wanted a frame with infrared elements mounted inside in a fixed position. This frame would encase the pipes. The critical part however was ensuring that PVC didn’t melt. This created a challenge because the PVC pipes were different thicknesses and were 100mm in diameter size. They ranged in thickness from 4 to 10mm and would also be rolling at the same time the heating elements would be operational.

Ceramicx combined all the customer’s variances and produced one heating system that could work on all the variations of PVC pipe. Temperature sensors were put into each of the 10 heating zones allowing the customer to ramp the heaters up or down based on the PVC thickness., An additional 100mm heating zone was added to adjust for larger PVC pipe lengths. Our infrared HTE heaters targeted the PVC pipes to ensure that they could soften prior to the next process.

See Case Study – Ceramic Infrared Heating System for PVC pipes

As well as solving your heating problems Ceramicx are happy to take the specifications you provide and build a system with minimal design work on our part. Many of our customers simply request a replacement system for exactly what they have already.

Background

Stringers are widely used in aerospace to increase stiffness in thin structures such as wings and fuselages while keeping weight to a minimum. An ‘omega’ or ‘hat’ is a common shape used in stringer design, seen in Figure 1.

In composite structures, carbon fibre and epoxy resin are typically laid onto a male stringer cure tool, many of which are made from invar and then subjected to heat. There are a number of ways to achieve this finished structure:

• Stringer and skin cured in one shot
• Stringer cured separately and ‘co-cured’ to skin when skin is being cured
• Skin cured separately and ‘co-cured’ to stringer when stringer is being cured
• Skin and stringer cured separately and ‘co-bonded’ afterwards

As could be envisaged, there are advantages and disadvantages of all approaches but from the perspective of reducing cycle time, manufacturing everything in one shot is the most favourable option. One complexity arising in pursuit of this approach is even heating. Autoclaves or out-of-autoclave (OOA) ovens that use convective heat are standard for this. However, if we analyse such a structure, it can be seen that geometrical thickness can vary considerably in locations; for example, in the unsupported region, there is just the skin itself and around the stringer, there is the skin thickness + stringer thickness. If such a product is being placed in a convection oven at a set temperature, it is very clear that there will be considerable variation in the temperature profile at areas of differing thickness. As the cure creates the physical properties of the finished part, even heating is essential.

The RAT Internal Curing System

Ceramicx’s RAT is a range of products that travel up inside enclosed structures and heat them from the inside out. It can drive or be pulled through curved profiles and although it’s potential across many industries is widespread, the RAT was developed primarily for out of autoclave (OOA) curing of composite stringers. The RAT is a low-profile InfraRed (IR) emitter, with specially designed reflectors that travels up inside the stringer tool and cures the stringer from the inside out, as seen in Figure 2.

The development of the RAT means that even heating of the stringer and skin can now be achieved in one curing operation. The drawbacks of curing in a conventional oven have been documented extensively in the past but can be greatly reduced with this approach. When combined with Ceramicx’s under-tool heating systems in traditional egg-box tool designs or with bespoke overhead IR curing systems, the potential benefits are significant. The system can also be modified for use with resin infusion and for consolidation of thermoplastic composites.

For approaches where stringers are cured separately from the skin, (see Figure 3) the RAT offers the potential for no tool movement to curing ovens, no excessive energy usage from convection curing systems and no potential bottlenecks associated with the oven thus considerably reducing cost.

Further Applications

Although primarily for curing of stringers, the RAT can also be used for curing of filament wound vessels and tubes, curing of underground drainage liners and forming of thermoplastic composites.

FAST IR systems offer optimum efficiency which is achieved by highly polished aluminium steel reflection and rear mounted axial flow fans, which eliminate rear convection losses and keep the reflectors cool for better directional quality on the infrared output.

The external body which is manufactured from aluminium can be maintained at “touch safe” temperature.

Standard Range:

Fast IR 500

Suitable for the fitting of 6 or 7 x 2000W Quartz tungsten/halogen heaters (QTL/QHL)

Fast IR 305

Suitable for the fitting of 4 or 5 x 1000W Quartz tungsten/halogen heaters (QTM/QHM)

Please note other configurations are avaliable on request

These quartz tungsten / quartz halogen heaters are useful in many wyas:

• The heaters have an almost instant heat up time.
• The light given off from the heaters creates a soft glow and is a visual indicator the heaters are operational.
• The unit can be mounted vertically or at an angle to a wall or mounted horizontally facing downward.
• Any quantity or individual sizes may be ordered from Ceramicx.

Applications include:

• Drying applications
• Curing of concrete
• White goods manufacture

Read More – BM Anlagenbau Case Study

I am very pleased to note any visitor to our new Ceramicx factory will find great difficulty in discerning the past footprint of the previous space: This has been superseded, reconfigured and elevated into two storeys in many parts. The completion of the 1800m² expansion to our production facility has led to the ability to double capacity for manufacture.

We have set hard targets for these new facilities. The previous infrastructure succeeded in achieving an average of 15% annual growth figure through the past five years. The new facilities therefore have a high benchmark to outperform.

I am more than confident that we can do it. Wherever we find ourselves Ceramicx maintains a ‘can do’ spirit that has enabled us to export over 95% of our production to 65 countries worldwide.

The unsurpassed surroundings of West Cork and our new facilities are, of course, great assets for our business and we intend to exploit them to our fullest capability.

With our varied infrared heat work in the automotive industry, I’m reminded that generic technology often needs a specific industrial setting before it can become more widespread and universal.

As a case in point, the work we carried out on our custom-built Ceramicx clam shell IR heater probably wouldn’t have taken place without prior, intensive heat work with Automotive Tier 1 supplier, Mecalbi.

Infrared innovation

The design and engineering of today’s cars contains miles of wiring and more electronics than ever. The technical term for this is ‘harnessing’, and Portugese-based company, Mecalbi, helps make plenty of it via the machines it supplies worldwide.

Founded in 2006, Mecalbi are global heat shrink specialists and produce machinery that can heat shrink thermoplastic sleeves around a variety of automotive wiring. As Mecalbi looked to perfect their heating and drying process cycles, Ceramicx stepped in to design and build a custom clamshell infrared heater that would be fitted into each machine they produce.

Harnessing the opportunity

This heat work method proved so effective for Mecalbi that Ceramicx has now gone on to design other innovative, large scale clam shell heaters/ovens which we now market under our own label.

It goes to show that by addressing one specific issue for one company, it can create an opportunity to design and market a generic industrial oven that helps many other companies in their own application processes.

Dr Cáthál Wilson

Heating the surface of a post cure carbon fibre composite using various infra-red emitters.

Enquiry

A tier 1 aerospace manufacturer requested a report detailing the ability of various Ceramicx infrared emitters to heat the surface of a unique post cure carbon fibre composite. The target was to bring the top surface of the composite to 235°C in approximately 15 seconds. The epoxy resin within the composite is a thermoset plastic, therefore, should the temperature get too high it would permanently burn and deform.

Solution

As with most material tests within the C²I² test room, the initial tests were to find out which type of emitter (long, medium or short wave) was most suited to the job. At a fixed element to target distance of 100mm, it was found that the long wave ceramic elements outperformed the medium wave tungsten and the short wave halogen tubes.

Based on the results, the heating element arrangement used was 6 x 800W black SFEH elements arranged in a 3 x 2 array. Following this decision, the distance between the elements and the target material would need to be reduced in order to reach the temperature target. As 100mm was clearly too large of a distance, this was reduced to 60mm, and in turn 50mm, and the results were noted.

 

Result

For the heating element arrangement in question (watt density of 44.8 kN/m²), a distance of 50mm was suitable for the surface of the composite to reach the required temperature of 235°C in approximately 11 seconds, well within the time restriction of 15 seconds.

The ability of a surface to absorb thermal radiation and covert it to heat varies greatly between materials, particularly between composites. To maximise efficiency, it is crucial that the most suitable emitter for a specific material is determined before developing a project.

Full report – Post-cure carbon fibre heating with various elements

Contact Ceramicx to help find a solution to all your related heating queries – [email protected]