Fast Heat: One-piece high-temperature heater band reduces downtime
The new HTFlex (TM) barrel heater provides plastics processors with the time-saving advantages of a one-piece band plus a substantial added downtime reduction due to its flexibility, it was announced today by Fast Heat Inc. While a conventional rigid one-piece barrel heater can take up to an hour to replace, users of the HTFlex band need only 10 minutes, according to Ian Renwick, engineering manager.
‘The thin-gauge steel sheath of the HTFlex heater band enables it not only to flex around any barrel diameter but to do so at any point along the barrel length, putting an end to the time-consuming task of replacing heater bands located in the middle of the barrel,’ Renwick said. ‘With machine time for an injection molder valued in the hundreds of dollars per hour, the increase in productivity made possible by this new band can yield substantial cost savings.’
Like other bands in Fast Heat’s HT series, the HTFlex barrel heater has a maximum operating temperature of 1,400 deg. F (760 deg. C), allowing processors to run a wide range of engineering resins, Renwick pointed out.
Installing or removing an HTFlex band is a one-person operation. After flexing the band open to fit the barrel diameter, the installer secures the self-centering screw clamps and attaches power to one set of terminal screws. If the band to be replaced is in the center of a series of band heaters or other equipment mounted on the barrel, there is no need to remove or disturb these other devices. In comparison with two-piece bands, the new barrel heater requires less assembly labor and eliminates the wiring of multiple terminations.