Creativity comes in all kinds of shapes, sizes and packages, especially in the thermoforming industry. Just ask Mike LaMarca of Kiefel Technologies in Hampton, New Hampshire.
Kiefel Technologies, a leading Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) of thermoforming machines that mold thousands of items most of us use everyday, provided Raytek, the leading manufacturer of infrared thermometry products that are used in thousands of processes in hundreds of industries, with critical customer feedback that led to the creation of a new, breakthrough system for the thermoforming industry. In long conversations over several months with Raytek sales and engineering staff, Kiefel described the evolving needs of the thermoforming industry, as well as the advantage of being able to incorporate a sensor system into their newest machines, to consistently monitor temperatures at all points.
“We wanted to be ahead of the curve instead of behind it,” said LaMarca, Kiefel’s Electrical Engineering and Customer Support Center manager. “It was clear there was more and more demand for this type of control.”
The “type of control” LaMarca is referring to is controlling the temperature of each of the heating zones on a panel of thermoforming material. Anywhere from 25 to 240 different heater zones can be used to heat a thermoforming panel. The heated panels are vacuum or pressure formed around a mold of a customer’s product. Some pieces are very complex designs and require individually varied zone heating to be correctly formed into the desired shape.
“In the past, material was heated until a temperature sensor (reporting material temperature in the center of the sheet) said it had reached the proper temperature,” he said. “But with more and more complicated materials, the industry needed to have more finite control.”
Having had a long and successful relationship with Raytek products such as Thermalert™ TX infrared sensors, LaMarca explained to Raytek engineers what he wanted to be able to do. What he needed was input on all zones across the panels so that he could adjust the temperatures of the cone-shaped 2-1/2 x 5 inch heaters where needed. He also needed to be able to take into account, and adjust for, changing ambient temperature conditions.
After nearly a year of collaboration, Raytek engineers brought him the TF100
Imaging System, and introduced it to the rest of the world in 2001. At the heart of the system is the MP50 process imager, which is mounted above or below the thermoforming panel, wherever it has a clear viewing path. It measures a line of 256 points using a rotating mirror that scans a 90º field-of-view up to 48 times per second. The scanning can be initiated by the measured temperature, or by an external “trigger” signal.
Using pre-wired cables, the MP50 connects to a standard PC operating Windows® NT4 or Windows® 2000 program. The easy-to-use "point and click" user interface allows LaMarca to see the temperature distribution of virtually any plastic part in the thermoforming process. As the heated panel moves through the field-of-view, a two-dimensional thermal image or “thermogram” is formed. Thermal images are displayed each time the scanned sheet indexes.
“The TF100 goes across the board in this industry,” LaMarca added. “We’ll offer it on all our machines, and once the end-user finds out what this can do for them, they will almost always want it.”
The response to the TF100 system from his customers has been very good and LaMarca had high praise for Raytek and its willingness to listen to his needs as well as the engineering skill it took to create the TF100 system. It gives his customers information in a format they can use, which did not exist before. Also, there are real savings that can be calculated because customers may be able to save material because there are fewer defective products produced and less scrap.
Of course, this new technology will soon be built into competitor machines, as well as Kiefel’s equipment, but that fact doesn’t bother LaMarca. He believes the TF100 system is an industry breakthrough, and that’s the price your pay for being a leader. He plans to make it work for his company by enhancing Kiefel’s reputation with its customers.
“It’s our hope that they’ll see that we’re forward thinking,” he said.
Noted by Kate McGuire, Raytek Corporation.