Infra-red aids control at UK flooring plant

Maidstone, UK – Infra-red systems from Heraeus Noblelight are being used at various points in a vinyl flooring production line at the Maidstone factory of Tarkett Ltd. The installation has helped improve manufacturing controllability and production flexibility of the line.

At the Tarkett factory, which specialises in the production of non-slip flooring, the production process consists of building up thicknesses of pvc paste on a pvc backing layer with a fibre glass internal matting.

The flooring is imbued with non-slip properties by introducing silicon carbide and aluminium oxide into the top surface layer and flakes of pvc can also be introduced for aesthetic appeal.

The application of heat is an important part of the process, both to dry the backing layer and to ensure effective curing of the applied PVC pastes.

This was formerly achieved by the use of long wave infra-red metal foil heaters but these have now been replaced with carbon infra-red (CIR) and medium wave emitters.

In operation, the backing layer is heated as it exits from an accumulator by means of two, CIR edge-heating modules, each containing 24, 1kW emitters, and a 27.5kW module to heat the width of the web.

This heating removes the moisture from the carrier material to allow good bonding for the subsequent application of PVC paste and to prevent bubbling.

A bank of IR emitters is then located immediately after the first paste application station and this provides surface drying before volumetric heat is applied by an oil-heated roller.

The PVC web then passes to a second paste application station, after which it is heated by a third IR system before passing to a hot air oven and a UV system for final cure.

According to Terry Guy, production engineer at Tarkett Marley: “The new system allows us the flexibility to cater for different product lines, with different thickness of pvc layers and its controllability means that we can adjust heating to suit specific line speeds.