Drying Tunnel Segmentation for Leather Humidity Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current industrial plants for drying and conditioning of flexible laminar surfaces, such as animal leathers, face issues with non-uniform temperature and humidity conditions, leading to inefficiencies and variations in treatment quality across batches, due to transient periods and inadequate control over thermal and hygrometric conditions.
Innovation Solution
The industrial plant divides the operating tunnel into physically distinct and independently controlled drying chambers, with a buffer loading station that processes pre-established groups of support frames simultaneously, ensuring uniform treatment and independent adjustment of air conditioning and traction devices for each chamber.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a single operating tunnel is used for drying flexible laminar surfaces, then the device complexity is reduced, but the manufacturing precision of temperature and humidity conditions deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The single operating tunnel is divided into multiple independent drying chambers (first drying chamber, second drying chamber, etc.), each capable of independent temperature and humidity control. This segmentation allows each chamber to maintain precise environmental conditions without interference from others, resolving the contradiction between structural simplicity and environmental precision.
Solution Approach 2:
Each drying chamber is equipped with its own air conditioning device and traction organ, allowing localized control of temperature, humidity, and leather movement. This local quality approach ensures that each chamber can be optimized independently for uniform treatment, achieving high manufacturing precision while maintaining overall system manageability.
2Productivity
If continuous processing is used in a single tunnel, then the productivity is increased, but the reliability of treatment conditions deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The processing tunnel is segmented into multiple independent chambers that can operate in parallel or sequence. This allows continuous high-volume processing while each chamber maintains reliable, consistent treatment conditions independently, preventing the propagation of variability throughout the entire processing line.
Solution Approach 2:
Leathers are pre-grouped into sets of multiple support frames before entering the drying chambers. This preliminary organization ensures that each chamber processes a controlled batch under consistent conditions, enhancing treatment reliability while maintaining continuous throughput capability.
3Device complexity
If single batch processing is used, then the device complexity is reduced, but the adaptability to different treatment requirements deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple independent drying chambers allow different batches with different treatment requirements to be processed simultaneously in different chambers. Each chamber can be configured for specific treatment parameters, providing high adaptability while the modular structure keeps overall system complexity manageable.
Solution Approach 2:
Each drying chamber is designed as a universal module that can handle different types of flexible laminar surfaces with different treatment requirements. The chambers can be independently configured and operated, allowing the same physical infrastructure to serve multiple processing needs, enhancing versatility without proportionally increasing complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution achieves more homogeneous and uniform treatment of flexible laminar surfaces, increasing efficiency and allowing for different batches to be treated under optimal conditions, while maintaining high processing capacity and versatility.
Implementation Method 1
air conditioning devices, such as, for example fans of axial type and/or traction organs, such as for example hydraulic organs installed in the operating tunnel), suitable to act on the flexible laminar surfaces so as to dry them
Implementation Method 2
drying or desiccation of flexible laminar surfaces, such as leathers of the tanning industry, is a very important processing which typically occurs in the central step of the entire tannery production process, wherein leathers are already taken the connotation of semi-finished products, with the object to dry them from the excess of water
Data Source
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AI summary
An industrial plant for drying and/or conditioning (1) flexible laminar surfaces comprising an operating tunnel (2) mainly developing according to a linear direction (Z) and provided with air conditioning devices (3) and/or traction organs suitable to act on the flexible laminar surfaces so as to dry them and/or spread them according to predetermined treatment and/or tensioning cycles, a plurality of support frames (4), each of which suitable to receive at least one of the flexible laminar surfaces so as to keep it in a spread and vertical position, moving means (5), operatively connected with the support frames (4) in order to convey them along the linear direction (Z) according to a predefined speed within the operative tunnel (2), to allow drying and/or tensioning of the flexible laminar surfaces, and outside the operative tunnel (2) to allow discharging of the flexible laminar surfaces dried and/or tensioned in a working cycle and loading of the flexible laminar surfaces to be dried and/or tensioned in the following processing cycle. In particular, the industrial drying plant comprises a buffer loading station (6), arranged upstream the operative tunnel (2) with which it communicates, suitable to integrally receive a pre-established group (7) of the support frames (4) before the pre-established group (7) itself of support frames (4) is transferred in bulk within the operative tunnel (2) by the moving means (5), in such a way that the support frames (4) of the pre-established group (7) simultaneously reach the inside of the operating tunnel (2) and the flexible laminar surfaces supported by the support frames (4) of the pre-established group (7) are simultaneously subjected to the processing of the air conditioning devices.