International heating systems specialist and manufacturer Ceramicx is on a mission this year to show the plastics thermoforming industry that a simple upgrade to an infrared heating system can increase profit margin by up to 40%. The infrared heating upgrade is designed to improve the performance of a a fixed capital asset that would take millions to replace and the upgrade, moreover,  typically pays for itself within months.

The Ceramicx infrared-in-thermoforming campaign is primarily aimed at international plastics processing manufacturers – a good percentage of which will be visiting Ceramicx’s exhibition stand at the worldwide triennial plastics K 2010 fair in Dusseldorf, Germany this October.

Ceramicx founder and Managing Director Frank Wilson says that ‘infrared platen upgrading and control has to be one of the thermoforming industry’s best kept secrets: For a very low five figure sum a sophisticated upgrade to a fixed and expensive capital asset can be supplied – and not only pay for itself within months but  also make you 40% more money on the output which you were having to make anyway. Not only that but the move will significantly prolong the life of your fixed machinery.

Wilson asks ‘how many typical thermoforming machines encountered regular issues or problems in their mechanical movement? Hardly any.’

Much more likely, says Ceramicx, are processing problems in the heating area – with burn out; with electrical faults and with problems with older style and non-directional heating.’ Wilson cites tubular and magnesium filled heating solutions; black rod heating and other kinds of non-infrared sources as contributing to inexact systems of production and – above all – to a waste of energy and electricity cost. ‘In a completely enclosed system or oven, this kind of heating becomes uncontrollable,’ he says, ‘and the thermoforming operator is being continually forced to ramp up the power and the input electricity in order to try and maintain a temperature.’

Wilson points out, however, that ‘for effective plastics thermoforming, the energy inputs have to be properly measured and then specifically applied.’ And Wilson adds that ‘as a long as a company’s financial and engineering departments remain separate, there will be precious little awareness of the issue – or a need to change it. The fact is, however, that the standard emissivity of an infrared element is rated at 0.96 compared to 0.60 of tubular heating – as referenced against an ideal of 1.0.’

The Ceramicx man reflects that the thermoforming industry may be reaching a point akin to the automotive market, where ‘gas guzzlers’ are simply no longer becoming attractive.

Wilson says that a host of other factors will contribute to thermoformers wanting to realise more margin and more money via infrared from their fixed production, including:

• Major reduction in capital equipment wear and tear
• Like-for-like infrared for tubular replacements
• Elimination of ‘hot box’ tubular problems
• No need for changes in control or instrumentation
• Poor performing infra red to be replaced with superior platens
• Savings in directional heat
• Better resultant product quality
• Improved set up time and tool change time
• More complex parts possible
• Cooling requirements also reduced
• Matching of heating controls to polymers being processed
• Improved environment for operators

Wilson’s view is that ‘most thermoforming companies spend their time unnecessarily contemplating the expensive prospect of a new machine to make them more money some time in the future when they could be making more money now  – with an infrared platen system upgrade,’ says Wilson. ‘The industry will do far better making best use of what it already has. This does not mean thrashing and over-riding its heating systems at 100% despite the energy bills and the component failures. It means finding the ‘sweet spot’ of the existing thermoforming system using controlled systems of infrared heating,’ he adds.
Frank Wilson