Blog

We hope you all had an enjoyable Christmas.

We are back to work today, office and production.

Last year we dabbled in some new industries and applications using infrared and continued to grow in strength with all our partners and distributors. Some investment in new machinery and forward thinking have set this coming year up to be a good one.

We have many new projects underway, along with exhibiting in Shanghai for Chinaplas 2020 in April.

As the year progresses all will be revealed!

Best Wishes for 2020!

Warmest Christmas Wishes and every happiness in the coming year from the Ceramicx team.

Ceramicx will close for Christmas holidays at 2pm on 20^th December

and re-open at 8am 2^nd January 2020.

 

We started Christmas celebrations this year with our Christmas party in the West Cork Hotel in Skibbereen.

A bit of friendly competition between our employees ensured many laughs on the night with prizes for:

Ceramicx Best Christmas Jumper prize – Rolf Hammerschmidt

Ceramicx Best Christmas Outfit prize – Agata Torba

For more photos from the night visit our Facebook page!

They had an enjoyable week hosting many visitors to the stand from all over the world. Of course, they no doubt missed our presence it seems we were replaced!

This is what Friedr Freek had to say:

“Although we have greatly missed our friends from Ireland, K-show has been a big success. We had more contacts than ever before and among them are many companies which are looking for solutions for specific heat tasks. Furthermore, a new blanket order from our well-established customer Otto Hofstetter AG has been sealed with a handshake and celebrated on our stand together with “Friedrich Otto”, a hotrunner for PET preforms made by Otto Hofstetter AG and equipped with energy efficient nozzle heaters from Friedrich Freek GmbH”

We are happy we could share our stand with “Friedrich Otto” in Düsseldorf for eight days. He was rather quiet but very attractive company.”

If anybody missed their chance to visit the Friedr Freek stand during K, please visit their website https://freek.de/ or email them [email protected] with any queries you may have.

1. Infrared energy can be harmful: Myth. Infrared energy is naturally occurring from the sun, travelling to the earth in wavelengths, and absorbed by all objects. Every object emits and absorbs infrared naturally without harmful effects – even us.
2. Infrared radiation is heat: Myth. Infrared radiation is electromagnetic energy that can be used to generate heat.
3. An infrared system is only concerned with heating: Myth. There are three considerations when dealing with infrared: Absorption, Reflection, and Transmission. Infrared systems emit electromagnetic energy and an effective infrared system will deal with these 3 issues as efficiently as possible.
4. To control temperature is to adequately control an infrared emitter: Myth. Radiation is generated by source temperature. The adjustment of temperature changes the infrared wavelength, hence the reason systems operate within a waveband output and not a wavelength output.
5. Infrared absorption of a target material is dictated by a single spectral analysis at ambient e.g. 20ºC: Myth. The spectral analysis and spectral absorption characteristics change as the target material temperature changes. It’s important to consider the use of waveband rather than wavelength to ensure the infrared output from an emitter or system is capable of meeting the spectral absorption characteristics of the material.
6. Emitters can be set at full values without thermocouple watch control: Myth. There’s a significant difference between starting the emitters (heaters) at an ambient temperature e.g. 20ºC and starting emitters in an ambient temperature of 400ºC. Turning on the heater at higher ambient values could result in burn out of the emitter.
7. The design and manufacture of infrared ovens, oven controls, and the application variables are separate, independent, components of an infrared system: Myth. All of these are important elements/components. They’re essential to each other in order to create effective and successful heat work process.
8. Temperature control systems can typically set the performance of infrared systems: Myth. This method of operation is a poor way to control radiation because temperature and % control are not developed with radiation in mind. However, these are the current and typical choices available – but should be used advisedly.
9. Infrared emitters can be used like furnace elements: Myth. The materials used to build effective infrared emitters don’t lend themselves to being used in a furnace-like environment. If used in this way, the transmission, absorption, and reflection, together with the resulting directional qualities, are not being adequately dealt with and will lead to heat up and burn out of the emitters.
10. Radiation can be treated in a similar fashion to conduction and convection: Myth. There are no circumstances where conduction and convection are comparable to radiation. These are three separate methods of heat transfer that do not relate to one another in any way.
11. Environmental conditions, such as weather, have no impact on the use of Infrared: Myth. These have a huge impact. The conditions of the surroundings, such as humidity, will have a big effect on the transfer of infrared radiation.

For further information on our infrared heating products, please contact your local distributor.

Our main distributer in Germany is Friedr. Freek GmbH where detailed information on their infrared heating products can be found.

Samhain is a Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter or the “darker half” of the year. Traditionally, it is celebrated from 31^st  October to 1^st  November, this also coincides with Halloween so we take this opportunity to remind all our customers and friends that this years October bank holiday is on October 28^th and our offices will remain closed until 8am on Tuesday October 29^th.

Patsy Bear has been getting in on the action helping set up a festive display in our foyer.

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.

A day that started with rain and fog turned into blue skies once Abacus Catering arrived to set up.

By 1 o’clock everyone in the factory gathered outside in the sun for a feast of burgers, chicken, salads and of course a sneaky bit of apple tart.

While some opted to sit in the shade (near the drinks conveniently) others enjoyed the heat of the sun sitting at the table long enough to rival The Last Supper.

Patsy Bear kept an eye on the proceedings hoping between the drinks in the shade and the leftovers in Abacus’s van before finally settling by the speakers to digest his food.

Thanks to Frank and Gráinne for a lovely afternoon!

Recent enquiries presented our research department with the following question:

“Could we improve the aesthetics of the IRP4 without sacrificing performance?”

This led to lengthy discussions within the department. As in the question, the performance of the IRP4 is of utmost importance, along with its structural integrity.

We contract manufacture this product for Herschel Infrared in the UK. An Advantage IRP4 consists of four 650W FTE fixed on two aluminised steel reflectors. These are housed in a robust stainless steel body, suitable for withstanding the high temperatures. The IRP4 is designed for use in large open spaces such as a warehouse or garage, where it is to be mounted facing downwards, at a height of approximately 3 meters.

While we are satisfied with the IRP4’s current performance, the need to constantly refine our products is essential to stay ahead in this ever-competitive market.

 “Curiosity is the basis for successful innovative development. Structure to this is completion”
– Frank Wilson, Managing Director

For this study, modifications were considered for two components which directly influence the radiative output of the heater; the reflector and the front face grill. While numerous other changes could be made, these were the current focus.

The Reflector

The standard reflector used by Ceramicx in almost all applications is aluminised steel. This is a cold rolled sheet of mild steel clad with an aluminium layer on either side, one side of which is highly reflective. Numerous reports have been produced to date by Ceramicx detailing the impressive reflective properties of this material. The performance of this reflector was compared with that of a stainless steel reflector, and a heat treated stainless steel reflector which appeared bronze. It was unanimously agreed that this bronzed stainless steel was very aesthetically pleasing.

The results, as expected, highlighted the superior reflective performance of the aluminised steel reflector. As a result, no alterations to the reflectors were made.

The Front Face Grill

The front face grill used in the IRP4 is a stainless steel mesh. For comparison, one grill was heat treated like the reflector to produce a bronze finish, and one was covered in a black powder coat. While all grill styles were found to reduce the performance of the IRP4, it is necessary to include a grill to adhere to safety standards. The results found no difference between the original and heat treated stainless steel grill, while the powder coated grill performed poorly. The higher emissivity of the black powder coat resulted in the grill absorbing an undesired amount of the thermal radiation emitted by the elements.

A heat treated (bronzed) stainless steel grill could be used on request, without having any adverse effects on performance when compared to that of the standard stainless steel.

Modifications can always be made to a product in order to meet customer demands. However, the performance of the product is paramount. Ceramicx strives to constantly improve and refine all products, as well as producing highly efficient bespoke pieces on request.

Full report is available to read and download here: CCII 00152 – IRP4 performance evaluation