Design News for Mechanical and Design Engineers

Maintaining your thermal fluid system's design flow rate is critical for system performance. Quantitative output can be provided by flowmeters, but for a simpler and less costly method of tuning a system, users should consider the installation of pressure gauges.

Draining Systems -- Before draining your system, have the fluid analyzed by the manufacturer to determine if flushing or cleaning is actually necessary. If it is, you'll get more of the crud out by keeping the fluid as hot as possible (200ºF -- 210ºF) while draining.

What is the difference between hot-oil systems that run for years with minimal problems and those that make everybody's life miserable? Oxidation. Oxidation is the main cause of heater deposits, plugged lines and that thick black mess that used to be a liquid when you open the drain valve.

The film temperature is defined as the temperature of the heated surface inside a heater. For fired heaters, the film temperature is measured inside the tube at the wall. For electric immersion heaters, it is measured at the surface of the element.

This chart identifies Fluid Efficiency ComparisonParatherm CR™ Cryogenic Fluid vs. Silicone Oil.

If you need prototype or short-run parts fast, Urgent Plastics can make the mold and the parts in as little as two to four weeks, instead of the 10- to 12-week average turn-around for their firms. For such a small company to be so productive, that means streamlining tool design, tool making, and molding. Learn how Urgent uses hot-oil moldtemperature controllers and Paratherm HE heat-transfer fluid from Paratherm Corp.

PolyVISIONS Inc., a specialty plastics company which has a wide range of extrusion and mixing capabilities. Because the company processes over 25 generic resin products with a wide variety of custom additives, they need a heat transfer fluid with consistent thermal stability and minimum impact from oxidation. Find out why 8 years ago they selected Paratherm NF® and they have continued to use this non-fouling, non-toxic heat transfer fluid ever since.

Bedoukian Research Inc., a specialty chemical company needed to find a more effective way to achieve lower temperature processing had become critical. Find out how Paratherm CR quickly proved to be a far more efficient at reducing temperatures from chemical reactions than any heat transfer fluid the company had previously used.

Winston Heat Treating Inc of Dayton, OH had a problem. Over the years a thick sludge had begun to develop inside their thermal fluid heat transfer system. As a result the system was taking too long to heat the heat transfer fluid and maintaining constant temperature of the fluid was becoming increasingly difficult. Find out how Paratherm helped solve the problem.

Vitafoam Products Canada Ltd., the world’s largest polyurethane foam manufacturer, found that cleaning its carpet underlay laminator with Paratherm Corporation’s LC™ system cleaner enabled the company to return to its normal production speed.