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Refrigerators , Always a Cool Business !
INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS , RELIABLE E Q U I P M E N T A N D W O R L D W I D E COVERAGE : THESE ARE THE THREE MAJOR REASONS FOR CANNON SUCCESS IN REFRIGERATOR MANUFACTURING . WE HEAR FROM PIERO CORRADI , CORPORATE DIRECTOR PLASTICS DIVISION , AND ANDREA ORLANDINI , THE CANNON GLOBAL PRODUCT MANAGER IN CHARGE OF THIS STRATEGIC MARKET , WHICH ARE THE LATEST NEWS FOR THE COLD WHITE APPLIANCES FIELD .
Cannon News : The basic matters first : which are the c u r r e n t t r e n d s i n t h e refrigerators industry ? Piero Corradi : Increase p r o d u c t iv i t y , o p t i m i s e insulation costs , reduce gas e m i s s i o n s , u s e o n l y environmentally-acceptable blowing agents . I could summarise all what the industry is looking for with these four targets .
CN : How is Cannon facing these requests ? PC : Delivering innovative equipment and performing production methods , as we have done for the past 50 years . We must work hand-in-hand with the Raw Material Suppliers , because all the above needs are satisfied by an innovative chemistry . We can only design the tools that transform liquid formulations into high-quality foams in the best possible way .
CN : How is this chemistry evolving , then , and what is Cannon supplying to make it work efficiently ? PC : Without detailing the strategies of each Raw Material Supplier that cooperates with us , we can resume the latest trends as follows :
· Increase the efficiency of the insulation media working on the size and shape of the foam cells ,
· Optimise the use of chemicals , trying to achieve a more uniform distribution of foam density within the walls ,
· Reduce the curing time of the foam using fastreacting formulations .
All the chemical leaders follow these three paths . There are now three types of formulations that can be taken in consideration to reach those targets :
· Microcellular foam cells , with diameter around 8-10 micron , that are under development using Aerogels and other innovative approaches . These foams might be industrially available in less than 3 years .
· Foams with small cells , with diameter around 100 micron , that are commonly available , are very reactive and thus require a very fast injection . They could already be used for a “ 100- second demoulding ” goal .
· Conventional formulations , with 200 micron cells : they are the most economic , so far , but cannot provide a fast demoulding performance .
CN : What is Cannon doing for t h e s e t h r e e t y p e s o f formulations ? PC : For the microcellular foam project Cannon Afros is the partner of Dow Italia , a l e a d i n g s c i e n c e a n d technology global company , and Whirlpool , the appliancewhite goods global company , in the LIFE + Project K-12 , aiming to demonstrate and show-case an innovative refrigeration technology to significantly improve the energy efficiency and reduce the carbon footprint of the Cold Appliance industry . The K-12 project connects n e w c h e m i s t r y w i t h technology innovations , avoiding any use of Green House Gases as blowing agents with a new appliance production technology driven by reducing the carbon footprint of manufacturing operations , addressing any technology requirements and regional needs . The 36-month project objective is to bring radical innovation to the manufacturing process of household appliances , insulated by a microcellular high-efficient Polyurethane foam able to achieve about 30 % reduction of thermal conductivity , thus significantly improve the energy consumption of refrigerators and freezers .
CN : A classic R & D project then , with mid-term expected results . How about today ' s requests for an increased productivity ? PC : Since the chemical solution is a fast-reacting foam , the mechanical answer to that is a machine with higher output , to deliver several kilograms of liquid in very few seconds , and a combination of mixing heads able to fill in the most rational way the fridge ' s wall cavity . We provide 200-kg / min or larger high-pressure dosing units , connected with a new generation of mixing heads that provide a very laminar flow at high output rates . This generates a very homogeneous foam structure , free from air traps or voids . Our control allows for a double injection at different output in extremely fast sequence , closing only the tiniest of the internal chambers of the head . By playing with this possibility , and by splitting very precisely the flow of liquid components into two mixing heads we can supply a four-head injection configuration using only two metering machines . This reduces the investment budget , the operative and maintenance costs and the footprint of the dosing equipment in the plant .
CN : What is the Cannon answer to the production needs of a fridge manufacturer using conventional formulations ? Andrea Orlandini : There are other tools that we can utilise to increase productivity , even for conventional foams . We can play on the dry side of the plant , speeding up operations to provide a faster part-to-part production cadence . This is true for both cabinet and door foaming equipment . We just released another innovative foaming system designed for customers requiring a compact industrial solution . It ' s derived from the famous Drum , that Cannon invented in the early 1980 ' s , has been manufactured in thousands of units … and has been made also by several competitors , when its Patent expired ! The Drum is a rotating polymerisation machine that features a structure composed by several sides , from three to twelve , holding the moulds . These moulds have always been filled with foam when they are parallel to the floor , fixed horizontally on the sides of the structure . We have now developed another method for foaming the doors , the VertiDrum , where the foam rises vertically and the advantages are numerous :
· With only two units and a conventional rigid formulation two complete sets of doors can be extracted every 30 seconds : it ' s the
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