Sonic's Air Knife Cooling Solution to a Heated Issue

Overview

Indium Corporation is a global supplier of materials primarily used in the electronics industry. At its factory in Utica, New York, single-strip metal solder ribbons (2” W (50 mm) by 0.01” (0.25 mm) thick) travel through an infra-red heating zone to dry any remaining solvents from the resin-based coating process. Production speed is 5 FPM (1.5 MPM), and the ribbons are cooled down before coiling.

Box fans provided inconsistent cooling results for the metal solder ribbon, which needed to be cooled from 100˚F (38˚C) to 65˚F (18˚C) before coiling.

Solution

Sonic designed a blower and air knife cooling system with its in-line Cool Airᵀᴹ aftercooler, which is ideal for air cooling products to cool the metal solder ribbons prior to coiling. Sonic’s blower after cooler produces cold air, resulting in water-less metal cooling. 

Result

Sonic's engineered high-velocity air cooling solution increased Indium's line speed and production rate by 80%, eliminating the bottleneck that was holding back production. The result was improved quality and production efficiency, and Indium ordered several more Sonic systems.