Posts Tagged 'infrared heaters'

Opening up Fundamentals

Here at Ceramicx we are again looking to publishing our fifth issue of HeatWorks magazine. The enthusiasm for the publication – inside and outside the company remains as keen as ever and will be reflected in the dozen or so articles being lined up for the new contents.

Key among the forthcoming pieces is a contribution written by Dr Tony Robinson, based at Trinity College, Dublin.

Tony’s article will pick up the baton in relation to the fundamentals of infrared heating technology. We always aim to enhance the commercial and technical pieces in the magazine with some more general and educational material on the vast and untapped potential within IR heating.

Our last issue of HeatWorks, for example, included an article that described and discussed the beneficial effects of IR heating on the human body.

In our next issue, Tony will look at the fundamental science and behaviour of IR heating in 3D space. His department at Trinity is doing great measurement and prediction work in that area. It is my hope that this research at Trinity will have profound implications for the way we think and plan our comfort and heating – specifically in the way we design and build heating systems for homes, shops, factories, offices and the built environment: Infrared heating is extremely accurate in the way it can target particular zones and spaces. And a relatively small input of IR heating in the right zone of a building can deliver a very large payback in terms of overall saved energy cost.

In truth, the infant science of infrared heating needs many more champions such as Tony Robinson in order to make explicit and realise the benefits of the technology. HeatWorks magazine, in its own way, is doing its bit.

And I simply encourage all IR practitioners to step forward and share with us your best articles and views for consideration throughout our publishing schedule next year. With the right communications campaigns we can all work for IR development and growth together.

It would be a poor show indeed if Ceramicx itself were unable to walk this talk.  It therefore gives me great pleasure to be allowed the opportunity to be lecturing at Trinity College this Thursday in order to share the IR industrial perspective and to communicate the best of our IR know how to the engineering student audience.

For all interested I will this week be delivering an open lecture on the subject of Ceramic Infrared Emitter Production. The lecture will take place on Thursday December 01 2011: 15:00, Parsons Building Seminar Room 2, Trinity College Dublin. I hope to see you there!

Posted in ceramic heaters, ceramicx, infrared heaters, Infrared Heating, Infrared Heating Experts, Infrared Heating Technology | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Europe remains vital

Our Autumn season of exhibitions continues: No sooner have our Friedr Freek friends in Germany finished telling the world about Ceramicx and infrared heating in plastics manufacture than yet another market opens up.

Last week our partners in Turkey, Ser Rezistans, had a very successful participation in the 21st International Istanbul Plastic Industries Fair. Plasteurasia is fast becoming the gateway event to the important Turkish market and beyond. International participation continues to grow, as do a number of Turkey’s leading OEM markets; in automotive, construction, white goods and high-volume packaging.

Ceramicx products on show at last week's Plasteurasia exhibition in Istanbul, Turkey

Hasan Duman of the company tells us that the high level of business at Plasteurasia includes much interest about Ceramicx Infrared capabilities and products. Ser Rezistans inquiries also included orders from makers of two thermoforming machinery companies who need machines building for new clients.

 

By any standard, Turkish manufacturing is clearly buoyant. Annual Turkish plastics industry growth is generally reckoned to be about thirteen percent and the flavour of this year’s Plasteurasia was very much about the country further selling its features and benefits into the international market places. (We feature more in depth material on the Turkish market in our current issue of HeatWorks magazine – just contact us direct for your copy.)

In truth, and very much despite the current EU shenanigans – there is currently much vitality in many parts of Europe – especially on the outer fringes and within the Central European manufacturing renaissance.

A new technology business like Ceramicx is always looking to couple our infrared heating expertise to that new manufacturing growth and vitality wherever we find it. And fortunately, we are continuing to succeed in searching out new territories.

On that note we now look due south to Barcelona, Spain. Later in the month that country’s trade exhibition, Equiplast, Nov 14-18, is set to be partnered by a brand new event and conference – Eurotec – led by the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE).

Last year’s SPE President, Ken Braney – previously featured in our HeatWorks Magazine – spearheaded this move and we wish Ken and all his team all the best for this bold new venture.

Europe – a patchwork of cultures and opportunities – continues to be of central importance to business and the world economy. Ceramicx for one remains committed to finding and partnering all the positives within that changing picture.

Posted in ceramic heaters, infrared heaters, Infrared Heating, Infrared Heating Experts, PlastEurasia, Plastics Thermoforming | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Map making – from craft into science

As Autumn gets into its stride so too does our new Innovation Partnership project – funded by Enterprise Ireland – and partnering Ceramicx with the University of Limerick.

Our interviewing process for the project team is going well.  Map making – fundamental research – is a funny thing and researchers into scientific fundamentals are also a rare and interesting breed.   In truth – since there is no path to follow – the investigative skills needed for our project will be 90% measurement and science based.

However, the research discipline also requires more than a touch of intuition and common sense – not least to help us not waste time and resource in blind alleys. Good detectives always back their gut instinct in knowing where and where not to look.

Like the map-makers and investigators of old our intent at Ceramicx is to create a new world of infrared heating knowledge so that we and others may follow through with it. Incredibly, although infrared technology was discovered over one hundred years ago, much of the work in heating applications still remains approximate and inexact.

Our fundamental project aim therefore is to collect and verify enough data and process measurement in the infrared production process so as to be able to scientifically engineer and produce what once belonged to a craft process. Added to that, our project will also enable us to make this engineering process robust, repeatable and scaleable – to produce as little or as much as needed.

Frank Wilson, Ceramicx MD and Dr Mark Southern, University of Limerick discuss the next steps in their Innovation Partnership

There will be many twists and turns along the way from here, but from the outset – and together with Dr Mark Southern’s team from the University of Limerick – we are confident of creating the map from the terrain.

As we create our scientific IR knowledge base we shall use this and other communications channels to keep you informed of our discoveries. It promises to be an exciting two years ahead!

A full report on the project – its aims and scope – will be carried in the next issue of HeatWorks magazine. If you missed out on our last issue – just order one up from Ceramicx direct and get yourself on the mailing list.

 

 

 

Posted in ceramicx, infrared heaters, Infrared Heating, Infrared Heating Experts, Infrared Heating Technology, Innovation Partnership Project, IR development | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Science – Engineering – Applications

Good things come in threes – as I never tire of saying. Radiation itself manifests three primary properties that all need some fundamental understanding in order to apply the technology properly.

Another mantra getting a lot of air time at Ceramicx these days is Science – Engineering – Applications.

Customers, customer needs and ideas and uses for technology (applications) provide the drivers for the engineering that is needed to make the products actually work. And science and scientific laws provide the necessary foundations for engineering work.

As experienced Infrared Heating Consultants this trinity of values can be found in all the infrared heating work that we do. The past 18 months has seen shuttling back and forth between the constituent parts. And as customers come to us with more variants for IR useage, so we need to be pushing the boundary of all three frontiers in order to get results.

So much so that the time has now come for a further quantum shift in our IR development – underscored with the formality of a new project and expansion of activity here at the factory.

Ceramicx is now embarked upon the second phase of our Innovation Partnership together with the University of Limerick (UL) and Enterprise Ireland. A brief pause for thanks is due to our friends and associates Mark Southern, Paul McCluskey and Tom Bannon for all their help in framing the project scope and in lining up the terms of reference and the resources.

We are now getting down to realising the new project aims and making things happen. New recruitment of the UL team is underway and over the next two years a detailed series of scientific-based road maps will be created in order to describe the inputs and outputs in the complex manufacturing mix of materials; humidity; temperature and electrics that combine in the manufacture of ceramic-based IR heaters.

Our ambition is nothing less than to create an unequalled matrix and underpinning of scientific know-how for IR heating manufacturing matters; all based on empirical measurement and on proveable and repeatable scientific theory and engineering.

Our first phase of the Innovation Partnership with UL brought us world-class results in terms of our product definition, its measurement and automated quality control. Our appetite to continue on is more than whetted. We are more than relishing the opportunity to go forward at Ceramicx with the help of Mark Southern and his UL team.

As ever, you will be able to read more about this topic in more depth in the next issue of HeatWorks magazine – out next month.

Simply contact us direct for your copy.

Posted in ceramicx, Frankly Speaking, infrared heaters, Infrared Heating, Infrared Heating Consultants, Infrared Heating Experts, IR development | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Shop online with us!

In all walks of life and business, online shopping has become the smart thing to do.

Ceramicx is no exception – and UK and Irish customers are the first to be able to order parts and components over the Internet in this way.

Amanda Murphy of Ceramicx explains how easy it is to dial up your infrared heating needs.

Whatever your working schedule, the Ceramicx online shop remains open 24 hours a day seven days a week.

UK customers are enabled to go onto the Ceramicx website; select the shop icon and then they select the infrared heating product that they are interested in eg element type, wattage figure, voltage, colour and quantity and then add the items to the cart.

Customers can pay by credit card and then we receive the confirmation e-mail to our sales account, sales@ceramicx.com.

Once the order is received it is then printed. We ensure the payment has been received, check our stock, and delivery dates to the customer, if in stock it goes straight to packing and if not into production.

For the shop orders we have two types of transport, either by Post (An Post) or by special delivery methods.  We also ship by Air Ocean or road, larger boxes, pallets or containers depending on customer’s location and orders.

A variety of environmental and economic packaging is used. This depends on what is being shipped and we place a great deal of importance on getting the packaging right so it arrives safe and sound. Ceramic elements are typically packed in cardboard boxes.

This package is then placed in a further outer box with more padding and Styrofoam sheets placed on the bottom and top to prevent shock to the elements.

We handle a great variety of UK enquiries through the shop: Replacement parts for machines – eg ceramic, quartz tubes, bulb heaters – are currently highest on the list. There is no minimum order but we advise that a shipment of ten pieces is the most economic way to go.

The very largest of orders are normally negotiated with the Ceramicx sales team. We estimate that this type of order will normally come out over 30kg in weight.

All Ceramicx infrared heating products – except engineering solutions and be-spoke projects – can be ordered through our on-line shop.  We can also sell you our own leading brands of infrared heaters into the bargain – ideal to warm your office and/or factory!

Posted in ceramic heaters, ceramicx, Infrared Heater Manufacturer, infrared heaters, Infrared Heating | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment