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| THE
SECRET |
| Infrared heaters achieve a high heating efficiency as a result
of the correlation between the output wavelength of the infrared
heater and the absorption wavelength of many materials. The
peak absorption of water is found at 3.0 microns, which falls
right in the center of the medium wavelengths. Drying applications
require the removal of water. Therefore, it is desirable to
correlate the heater output and absorption of water. The peak
absorption of most plastics and powder coatings is from 3.5
- 4 microns. The absorption of many materials mirrors the output
of infrared heaters. Generating infrared heater energy at the
same wavelength as the absorption wavelength of the material
maximizes the heat transfer and the process speed. Additionally,
it lowers the amount of energy used in the process, thereby
reducing the cost per unit part. It should be noted that the
goal is not always to correlate the heater output to the absorption
of the material. There are many other factors that go into
the equation. |
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| THE
ADVANTAGE |
| The advantage of infrared heating relates to the high
level of achievable heat transfer. That means a faster
process, while using less energy. A comparison of different
methods might be the heating of a 1/8" thick acrylic sheet. |
| Heating of the sheet via convection would require 12
minutes to bring the sheet up to the forming temperature.
Conduction heating would require 6 minutes to reach the
same point. Infrared heating would require only 2 minutes
to achieve the same goal. |
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Infrared
can be 6 times swifter at heating the product,
as compared to convection heating. |
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