Heat Transfer Rollers: New Design Technology Helps Advance Thermal Roller Performance

Menges heat transfer roller Menges Roller Co. has released its new computational fluid dynamics thermal modeling technology for heat transfer rollers. Menges officials say the company has incorporated CFD technology into the heat-transfer roller design because it can handle the many scientific disciplines that make up a roller’s performance profile: rotation and speed factors; physical factors, including the roller's internal and external specifications; liquid and fluid flow-rate data; and molecular formulas for the various plastics and coatings. As a result of generating these CFD-based models – which take the form of mountains of data and detailed images – Menges Roller can now design heat transfer rollers that perform at a very high level. Fluctuations in temperature can be completely eliminated, and uniformity and predictability are guaranteed. Guesswork and trial-and-error are also eliminated. These advances are especially important to rollers involved in super-hot applications, where peak temperatures above 500°F must be achieved and maintained by heat transfer rollers on a day-in, day-out basis. Film extruders, plastic converters and packaging companies now have the ability to save time and money while increasing overall quality through the CFD thermal modeling technology.