Heraeus Noblelight is pleased to introduce its newest development in composites heating technology: the humm3 discovery at the CAMX 2021 show in Dallas.
Heraeus Noblelight’s humm3 technology is a high power, flexible, controllable heat solution for Automated Fiber Placement (AFP), Automated Tape Laying, Filament Winding, and other composites applications. humm3 discovery is the newest addition to the humm3 product family and has been born out of years of development from the original humm3 lab system, which has accumulated many thousands of hours in runtime and is installed in prestigious organisations around the world.
The humm3 discovery is specifically intended for R&D applications, and its new features include an easy-to-operate handheld Human Machine Interface (HMI), integrated Fieldbus control, and ‘plug and play’ head connectivity allowing head modules to be replaced quickly and with minimum downtime to suit your process.
Peter Lascelles Senior Sales Manager for humm3 commented: “The humm3 discovery has built in a lot of the key learnings that we have made from our larger industrial systems. We have been able to incorporate new features such as an integrated handheld HMI, integrated Fieldbus control and an improved head design. These all bring benefits to the usability of humm3 and the heating process itself.
“We have improved the way the energy is emitted and controlled in the head to make it much more efficient. humm3 discovery is more powerful than its predecessor, and we have reduced ultraviolet emissions because they are the primary hazard that we must manage with humm3, and they can have an impact on the process that is sometimes undesirable. This makes the humm3 discovery an improved, more powerful, and more capable package.”
In recent successful tests at the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) the humm3 discovery has performed exceptionally well in filament winding researching into the manufacture of hydrogen pressure vessels to be used in mobility. The humm3 discovery successfully processed a range of thermoplastic materials including carbon fibre reinforced PA6, PEEK, and glass fibre reinforced polypropylene.
Rob Hewison Technical Manager at AMRC (Composites Centre) added: “We have completed several trials with the humm3 discovery system concentrating on the processing of thermoplastic materials for use in filament winding. humm3 emits in a very broad range of frequencies from UV to IR, and the materials we use all absorb at different rates. This means that humm3 can process a wide range of composite materials. This allows us to select materials for their sustainability along with their engineering characteristics, allowing us the opportunity to be as sustainable as we can in material selection.”