Efficient Heating Solutions for the Automotive Industry

Infrared heating lamps offer advantages such as small size, rapid heating, and precise heating, making them widely used in the automotive industry for applications such as plastic welding, interior composite material molding, adhesive activation, and powder coating curing.

Infrared light emitted by an infrared radiator (light source) is absorbed by materials through molecular (atomic) resonance, thus heating the object. Infrared heating, with its matched wavelength and selective penetration, directly and directionally heats the surface of an object to a certain depth, making it a highly effective method for heating, drying, and curing. Youhui infrared lamps can not only heat large areas of surfaces but can also be custom-shaped (3D) to precisely heat localized, curved workpieces according to process requirements.

Main applications:

(1)Interior parts: A, B, and C pillars, trunk, dashboard, door panels, inner door panel frames, sun visors

(2)Exterior parts: Wheel covers, bumpers, headlights, rearview mirrors, lamp covers, roof, glass

(3)Seats: Surface wrinkle removal, track and backrest welding

(4)Engine system: Plastic filters, sound insulation cotton, internal welding of covers, inner caps of covers, radiators, brake fluid reservoirs, fluid cups, water tanks, fuel tanks, air ducts, etc.

Application Cases:

(1) Infrared Drying Retrofit of a Car Factory's Painting Line: To address the low efficiency and high energy consumption of traditional painting drying processes, the factory retrofitted its coating drying process with infrared heating. A multi-zone infrared radiator layout was adopted, with corresponding infrared wavelengths matched to the coating thickness; for example, short-wave infrared was used for thick coatings, while long-wave infrared was used for surface drying. After the retrofit, the coating drying time was reduced to 3 minutes, energy consumption was reduced by 40% compared to the traditional process, and the rate of defects such as paint bubbles and color differences was significantly reduced, greatly improving the production line's efficiency.

(2) Infrared Paint Booth Application in a Car Repair Shop: Previously, the repair shop used a traditional paint booth, which suffered from long baking times and high energy consumption. Subsequently, an infrared-heated paint booth was introduced, using infrared radiation to directly act on the car body to be baked. After the retrofit, the baking time was reduced to half that of the traditional process, with a single baking cycle requiring only 1 hour. This not only improved the shop's ability to handle repair business and reduced potential equipment failures, but also optimized the workshop's working environment because the infrared lamps operate without noise or electromagnetic radiation.

Compared to traditional heating methods like air convection heat transfer, infrared heating offers significant advantages in automotive painting:

• Energy-saving heating: Near-infrared heating lamps convert 95% of electrical energy into heat, far exceeding traditional methods.
• Environmentally friendly: Infrared radiation heating is environmentally friendly, allowing for rapid on/off switching and minimizing radiation loss. This clean, green, and safe heating method uses imported and domestically sourced high-quality quartz tubing, preventing corrosion, peeling, and the generation of harmful gases or odors to the heated object or environment. High-quality quartz tubing is a high-temperature resistant material with excellent plasticity at high temperatures, preventing tube bursting and ensuring a very high safety level.
• Long average lifespan: The average lifespan of the heating element products reaches 5000 hours, and even longer lifespans can be designed and manufactured according to customer requirements. Medium-wave heating can reach 20,000 hours.
• Novel heating method: Heating directly onto the object without heating the surrounding air; objects can be heated directly in a vacuum environment. This avoids the heat loss problems that occur during heat transfer between the heat source and the heated object in traditional heating methods.
• When using infrared radiation heating, selecting a suitable infrared wavelength that matches the absorption spectrum of the heated object yields better results. For example, short-wave infrared radiation penetrates the coating surface more effectively, heating simultaneously from the inside out.
• The infrared radiation heating system can be easily integrated into the production line. Through mechanical components, infrared reflectors, and a control system, external infrared radiation heating and production operations can be synchronously controlled.
• Easy to control: Utilizing the rapid response time and the extremely low thermal inertia of high-quality quartz tubing, the heating process can be quickly and accurately controlled. The power output of the heating process (module) can be arbitrarily set from 0-100%, achieving excellent temperature control.
• Simple to use, easy to install, low-cost maintenance and replacement.

In the automotive manufacturing process, infrared radiation heating is a time-saving and cost-effective method for drying and curing, and it can also help improve component quality in some key processes. In the future, infrared radiation heating will be used for more components, and possibly even for the entire vehicle production process, indicating significant market potential.