New Waste Heat Recovery Systems for Pressure Sensitive Adhesive C

Cire Technologies Supplied Dryers Increase Press Line Speed and Quality

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.

Cire Technologies Supplies New Process Line Including High Temperature Flotation Tower Oven

This project encompassed the design, fabrication, installation and start-up of a new process line for a web coating and curing process line in a clean room environment. This turnkey installation included the web handling equipment, a 4-zone tower flotation oven and an interactive computer control system. The process required gentle handling of a light film product and the demanding service of oven operating temperatures up to 842°F (450°C).

The oven was designed with a hybrid heating system using indirect propane heated make-up air and electrical coil supplemental heat in the final three zones of the oven. The indirect heat is powered by a nozzle burner firing into a recirculating loop, through a plate type heat exchanger. The efficiency of the indirect system exceeds 95% . The make-up air is HEPA filtered and fed to the four oven zones. High temperature filters are provided in the recirculating loop of the first three zones. A cooling zone at the top of the tower cools the web with HEPA filtered outside air prior to it passing over the turn roll. A nozzle retraction system allows the nozzles to be set anywhere from 0.375" to 3.5" apart.

Careful design and consideration of the thermal expansion of the oven components was particularly important at these elevated temperatures to maintain the integrity of the floater system and its support of the web.

The computerized web handling equipment included an unwind, rod coater, web guides and web rewind. The computer interface control system allows for precise control of the entire line and recipe development.

The project was completed on time and on budget, while exceeding stringent performance specifications. Variable speed drives on all fan motors and precise control of each of the four zones result in a flexible process line, which will allow for process changes as well as accommodating new future products.

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Cire Technologies Supplied Dryers Increase Press Line Speed and Quality

Cire Technologies Supplies New Process Line Including High Temperature Flotation Tower Oven

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