Infra-red drying

An infra-red drying system from Heraeus Noblelight has helped Lorlec improve productivity and reduce downtime in the drying of electro-plated components at its Burton-on-Trent factory.

The new system was easily and quickly retrofitted into the available space in the plating area.

Lorlec is a MacDermid Registered Applicator of the METEX JS 500 zinc process.

At the end of the electroplating process components are dried as they are conveyed to a storage area to prevent discolouration or watermarks. To achieve this a Heraeus 38.4kW fast response, medium wave system was retrofitted adjacent to the conveyor system by the water bath.

Since its installation, the new system has allowed productivity to be increased by around 30%, due to the efficiency of medium wave infra-red in drying applications and the long life of the medium wave modules.