Say goodbye to high energy consumption! How can infrared heating become an "accelerator" for composite material manufacturing?

Infrared heating technology plays a crucial role in composite material processing, primarily used in preheating, curing, drying, and repair processes. Compared to traditional convection heating, infrared heating offers advantages such as rapid temperature rise, concentrated energy, precise temperature control by zone, and energy efficiency.

Whether it's short-fiber reinforced thermosetting plastics for large automotive body parts, long-fiber reinforced thermoplastic plastics for high-strength structural components, untwisted rovings for wind turbine blades, or fiber winding processes for sleeves and pressure cylinders, the goal is to achieve maximum production efficiency at the lowest cost while ensuring superior quality. Infrared heating technology is the core driving force behind this goal.

Main Application Scenarios of Infrared Heating in Composite Material Manufacturing

With its comprehensive technological advantages, infrared heating has been widely applied to the entire process of composite material molding, becoming a standard process in major high-end manufacturing fields.

• Highly efficient preheating of thermoplastics: Infrared radiation heats up extremely quickly (up to 5℃/s-20℃/s), rapidly bringing the surface of the sheet to between the glass transition temperature and melting temperature of the resin, softening the material and preventing it from dripping, thus providing excellent conditions for subsequent 3D pressing or injection molding.
  
• Vacuum degassing and compaction assistance: During the molding process, precise infrared heat input helps the resin flow and wet better. Combined with the vacuum environment, it can effectively remove internal air bubbles and achieve tight compaction of the material.
  
• Quality assurance for aerospace structural components: For thick-walled polymer composite components such as drones that have extremely high requirements for weight and strength, infrared heating can improve curing kinetics, increasing tensile strength by 15%-20% compared to traditional methods, and significantly enhancing the mechanical properties of structural components.
  
• Deep optimization of heat input and process control: In advanced processes such as automated fiber placement (AFP), the infrared heating system can dynamically adjust the heating power according to the placement rate to achieve precise constant temperature control and 'in-situ consolidation' of the prepreg.
  

High-efficiency solutions for infrared heating technology

(1) Wavelength Matching and High-Efficiency Reflection Technology

• Wavelength Matching: Selecting infrared lamps with the same absorption wavelength as the thermoplastic composite material can significantly improve heating efficiency. For example, the far-infrared radiation (wavelength 2.0-10μm) emitted by carbon fiber quartz heating tubes has extremely strong penetration and resonant absorption effects on organic materials such as resins.
  
• Reflective Coating: Applying a special reflective coating (such as a gold-plated optical film or a white alumina reflective layer) to the back of the lamp or the inner wall of the heating furnace can convert more than 90% of electrical energy into infrared radiation and precisely focus the heat energy onto the material, reducing heat loss and achieving significant energy-saving effects.
  

(2) Uniform Heating and Deformation Prevention Design

• Segmented Power Arrangement: To address the 'heat concentration' effect of traditional lamps where the edge temperature is low and the center temperature is high, segmented infrared heating tubes are adopted. By increasing the power density of the filaments on both sides, the consistency of lateral heating of a single lamp is ensured, thereby avoiding deformation, delamination, or incomplete welding of composite materials due to uneven heating.
  
• Scientific Array Arrangement: Through optical simulation, a parallel arrangement is adopted, and the lamp spacing and irradiation height are reasonably adjusted to ensure the overall uniformity of the heating surface.
  

(3) Rapid Response and Dynamic Precise Temperature Control

• Instant Start/Stop: Short-wave halogen infrared lamps have extremely low thermal inertia, reaching full power output within 1-2 seconds and cooling down very quickly. Combined with a robotic arm handling system, an on-demand heating mode can be achieved: heating starts only when materials are in place and shuts off immediately when materials are removed, greatly improving energy efficiency.
  
• Closed-Loop Temperature Control: The system is equipped with a thermostat for proportional control (e.g., 0-100% power adjustment) and multiple temperature sensors at the top and bottom of the oven provide real-time temperature data feedback, ensuring that each area of the board accurately reaches the target temperature (e.g., 200℃).
  

(4) Modular and Adjustable Distance Structure

• Infrared heating furnaces typically employ a symmetrical double-sided heating structure, either horizontally or vertically, and are equipped with a cooling fan and cooling system to protect the reflector from oxidation. Simultaneously, the lamp installation position can be adjusted by bolts or other structural means to accommodate composite materials of varying thicknesses and processing requirements.
  

Four Core Advantages of Infrared Heating Technology

• Precision Control: Supports fine-tuning of voltage and power.
  
• Edge Adjustment: Precisely tracks the edges and contours of materials.
  
• Fast Response Time: Achieves superior control performance through rapid reaction speed.
  
• High Adaptability: Covers manufacturing needs across all scenarios.