BAYER CORPORATION PAPER DESCRIBES NEW HIGH-PERFORMANCE REFRIGERATOR CABINET POLYURETHANE MACHINERY

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BAYER CORPORATION PAPER DESCRIBES NEW HIGH-PERFORMANCE REFRIGERATOR CABINET POLYURETHANE MACHINERY
01 October 2001 - Bayer MaterialScience AG

Hennecke Machinery, a unit of the Bayer Corporation's Polyurethanes Division, has responded to refrigerator manufacturers' demands for increased production flexibility with the LinFlex™ System, a new production line concept for insulating refrigerator cabinets with rigid polyurethane (PU) foam.

The LinFlex System: allows a unique zero-time change over for the fixture/core assembly between different refrigerator models; occupies up to 30 percent less manufacturing space in many plant installations; offers a cycle time as low as 30 seconds; and allows for variable curing times, ranging from 3.75 to 15 minutes.

Members of the LinFlex team have written a technical paper 'LinFlex®, A Proven Success - New, Innovative Refrigerator Cabinet Polyurethane Machinery,' that illustrates how the versatile LinFlex System helps increase manufacturing capacity by combining simple foaming fixtures, enabling the use of conventional or top-flow filling holes, and reducing the number of pouring stations.

Authors of the paper are David R. Hanne, Account Manager, Hennecke Machinery; James Willison, Senior Technical Sales Representative, Hennecke Machinery; Kurt Pieper, Sales Manager, Hennecke GmbH; and Beatrix Geiger, Project Manager, Hennecke GmbH. Willison will present the paper at the Alliance for the Polyurethanes Industry's Polyurethanes Conference 2001 here.

'The LinFlex System is designed for high-performance mass production and accommodates multiple models of refrigerator cabinets,' explained Hanne. 'In contrast to the stationary plant, the supporting molds are conveyedby a linear transport system, thereby optimizing equipment utilization.'

The LinFlex System comprises: the pre-heating oven, infeed, central station, foaming station, curing station, shuttle, outfeed and changing station. The configuration is primarily driven by two factors: production requirements, which indirectly determine cycle time; and maximum curing time. As the first factor - production requirements - increases, cycle time will decrease, and more central stations will be required to handle the load. Maximum curing time, the second factor, indirectly determines the number of required fixture/core units; as curing time increases so does the number of fixture/core units required.

'Competitive pressure in the refrigerator industry is constantly increasing, and many manufacturers need to reduce their costs while simultaneously enhancing production flexibility,' said Hanne. 'The LinFlex System, with its ability to change from one refrigerator cabinet model to anothetr with virtually no effect on production, meets this need.'

http://www.bayermaterialscience.com

About: Bayer MaterialScience AG
Bayer Corporation, headquartered in Pittsburgh, is part of the worldwide Bayer Group, an international health care, nutrition and innovative materials group based in Leverkusen, Germany. Bayer employs 23,300 in North America with net North American sales of 8.8 billion euros in 2003. Bayer’s three operating business areas – HealthCare, CropScience and MaterialScience, improve people’s lives through a broad range of essential products that help diagnose and treat diseases, protect crops and advance automobile safety and durability.

Bayer MaterialScience AG is one of the world's largest producers of polymers and high-performance plastics. The main customers for Its innovative developments in coatings, adhesives, insulating materials and sealants, polycarbonates and polyurethanes are the automotive and construction industries, the electrical/electronics segment and manufacturers of sports and leisure goods, packaging, and medical devices.

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