one for the boffins

You say you pass them under infrared lamps, couldn't you pass them through an oven instead? Even just enclosing the part of the conveyor with the lamps could help.
 
Alphane said:
Not sure if I'm a boffin but here it goes

Things to consider.

You aren't just heating lacquer you are heating lacquer and can this will take longer.

Your lacquer may need time to cure , does it just need to hit x temp or does it need to mantain that temp.

As someone mentioned focusing and angling of lights or products may be an answer, I would also imagine placing a reflective layer around the inside of the machine and on surface of conveyer belt may reduce overall energy absorbed by insignificant entites.
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Yes the lacquer just needs to hit 250c and i assume some chemical change takes place and cures/hardens the lacquer.

i believe the focus/angeling of the lamps are in the best/optimum configuration, but i will try to improve the reflectors.

@ DP
The lamps may be slightly less efficient (or slightly more) at higher power ratings but this doesn't really resolve your issue.

If your goal is to have the lacquer harden and you don't directly care about heat production then I would look at the actual curing process of the lacquer.

What you might find is that there is a an amount of time required at a certain temperature needed to cure. Increasing the heat may not resolve any issue. You need o contact the manufacturer of the lacquer, or investigate alternative solutions.

You might have to invest in an industrial oven so the cans can effectively bake for 1-2 hours (or maybe just 5 minute etc.). 12seconds might not be enough for most regular lacquers.

You might find that passing the cans through the heater multiple times does the trick.
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The manufacturer says hit 250c as fast as possible and all should be good, from what i understand we are not the only one with this problem but others have no problems, i need to find out how those people are curing it.

@Liampope
What i want to know is what products are currently being sent out in cans with wet lacquer still in them?
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Russian Customer no idea what they are putting in it:eek: im sure they will let us know!
 
I would try running a control experiment. Take a few cans and expose them to the lamps for different durations. You have the data for 12 seconds so try 13 seconds, 14 seconds, etc. all the way up to 20 seconds. Also try running a can through the process twice to see if that improves the cure.

Analysis of these cans should indicate the minimum exposure time required to bring about a complete curing of the cans and will give you an idea of how far off you are from achieveing your goal.

The advice given by D.P. above is very good. It is probably the case that the lacquer doesnt instantly cure when it hits 250 degrees and requires time for curing to complete. I guess the idea could be if you heat the cans to a hot enough temperature above what is required for curing then by the time they cool below the curing temperature they have had sufficient time to cure.

Personally I would call the manufacturer of the lacquer and ask if they can send a technical expert to visit your site to discuss problems with the curing process. Companys are always looking to improve their products and as you say this other people are having this problem it seems reasonable that they would want to discuss it. Besides, I'm sure you are a valued customer and they wouldnt want to lose you. Also ring other lacquer manufacturers (No idea if there are many!) explain your problems and see if they can offer any help.
 
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