This project, installed in Massachusetts, encompassed the design, fabrication and start-up of four new direct impingement dryers for an existing press line upgrade. The process prints water based inks on various substrates. The upgrade has increased the line capability three-fold.
The dryers are designed for 750 fpm printing speeds but are capable of reaching speeds over 1000 fpm. The system includes an innovative design utilizing a single burner system to supply heat to all of the four press dryers while still maintaining independent temperature control for each dryer.
With one burner system and mixing dampers at each dryer the system is easier to maintain and can fit into tight locations. The adjacent picture shows the compact installation of the fan and mixing damper platform on the drive side of the dryers.
Precise control over tem
perature and impingement velocity is achieved by the dryer design. The temperature is controlled within one degree of setpoint and the impingement velocity can be adjusted with variable speed drives on the recirculating fans.
Automatic controls over the exhaust burner recirculating fans adjust air flows to correspond to the number of presses operating. After starting the burner system and setting the dryer temperatures there is no other operator interaction with the dryer system required. The system is simple and extremely repeatable.
