An infra-red system from Heraeus Noblelight is providing efficient and reliable drying of water-based varnish applied during the manufacture of a range of embossed paper at the Kendal factory of James Cropper Paper Products.
Established in 1845, James Cropper produces paper, packaging and advanced materials incorporating pioneering non-wovens and electrochemical coatings. It is a global leader and specialist provider of niche solutions tailored to a unique customer specification, ranging from substrates and components in hydrogen electrolysis and fuel cells to bespoke colours and textures in paper and moulded fibre packaging designed to replace single use plastics.
To meet a growing8 market demand for high quality textural effects for luxury packaging and creative papers, the company decided to make a significant investment in new special-purpose plant and contacted Emerson & Renwick (E&R Group), of Accrington, a world-leader in the design and manufacture of sophisticated roll-to-roll production machinery. As a result, E&R designed a machine which first embosses the required pattern onto the paper. This emboss can be enhanced by applying a water-based varnish to the substrate; making the base colour richer in appearance and also improving scuff resistance. However, before the paper is rewound, the varnish needs to be fully dried.
To solve this drying problem, E&R contacted Heraeus Noblelight, with whom they have a long-standing relationship, with a history of many successful, collaborative projects. Heraeus then supplied a 22.5 kW carbon infra-red system so that trials could be carried out on E&R’s pilot plant to determine the optimum system to fully dry the varnish at paper speeds of up to 140m/min.
These trials proved successful and a roll-on-roll-off machine was suppled to James Cropper incorporating a 108 kW carbon medium wave infra-red system consisting of 24 emitters, herringboned across the web to allow the power to be switched in five zones to suit web widths from 750mm to 1300mm. The system is also PID-controlled to ensure that only the power needed to meet the drying temperature is applied. In addition, Heraeus also supplied a rear reflector/cooling module, which passes a gentle flow of air over the back of the web. In the event of line stoppage, this cooling air flow is ramped up to minimise the risk of fire.
Since installation, the new machine has proved eminently successful. As Darren Gibson, production manager at James Cropper, explains, “This investment brings significant capacity and capability improvements, allowing us to respond to the demand for bespoke textural effects we’re seeing from our customers The infra-red system has also proved to be very reliable, and the air-cooling system gives us that extra peace of mind.”
Heraeus Noblelight, which was recently acquired by Excelitas Technolgies and is now Excelitas Noblelight, specialises in the production and application of high-quality energy sources covering the electro-magnetic spectrum from ultraviolet to infra-red. It has over 40 years experience in infra-red technology and offers the expertise, products and systems to provide efficient and effective solutions to drying, heating and curing problems throughout industry.
Excelitas Technologies® is a leading industrial technology manufacturer focused on delivering innovative, market-driven solutions to meet the critical sensing, detection, imaging and illumination needs of our OEM and end-user customers. Serving a vast array of applications across medical, life science, industrial, semiconductor, smart building, aerospace and defense sectors, Excelitas stands committed to enabling its customers’ success in their many various end-markets. The Excelitas team consists of more than 7,500 professionals working across North America, Europe and Asia to serve customers worldwide.
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