RADIO-FREQUENCY DRYING OF LATEX ADHESIVE ON CARPET

We studied the feasibility of using a radio frequency (RF) oven to dry and cure latex adhesive backing on tufted nylon carpet. The drying an d curing step in the backcoating operation often limits production spe ed. Numerous backcoating machines are running at relatively low speeds (in the neighborhood of 15 mpm), which cannot be increased by adding to the oven length because floor space is limited. Since RF ovens gene rally require much less floor space than convection ovens, we investig ated increasing production speeds of dryer-limited backcoaters by retr ofitting with RF ovens. Installing an RF oven along with a conventiona l convection oven, especially as a preheater, offers significant advan tages in this regard.