High-Temp HB-Therm® TCUs from Frigel Use Water Instead of Oil to Eliminate Environmental Concerns and More Safely Deliver Precise Cooling for North American Plastics Processors

HB-Therm TCUs Have Proven to Provide Highly Accurate Temperature Control in Applications Where Precise Cooling is Essential. The Latest HB-Therm TCU will be on Display at NPE, Booth W193.

Frigel, the pioneer in intelligent process cooling, today announced the availability of HB-Therm® Temperature Control Units (TCUs) in North America that use water – not synthetic oil – as a heat transfer fluid to cool plastic molds at operating temperatures of 200^oC (392^oF) to 230^oC (446^oF). The water HB-Therm TCUs deliver precise cooling while eliminating environmental concerns associated with oil TCUs, which are often used to achieve high operating temperatures. Additionally, water as a heat transfer fluid is an inherently safer option than synthetic oil. Frigel will display the HB-Therm TCUs at NPE2018, Booth W193, May , 2018 in Orlando, Fla.

Frigel North America has served as the exclusive distributor of HB-Therm TCUs in the United States and Canada for nearly a decade. HB-Therm AG manufactures the full line of TCUs at its operation in Gallen, Switzerland. The Swiss TCUs have proven to provide highly accurate temperature control in applications where precise cooling is essential. Examples include medical applications that require validation of process cooling temperatures, and small, injection-molded precision parts.

Frigel North America Marketing Manager Al Fosco said the high-temperature HB-Therm TCUs fulfill an important industry need and illustrate Frigel’s commitment to giving North American customers process-cooling solutions that help them gain a competitive advantage.

“With these high-temperature water TCUs, processors can maintain precise cooling at high temperatures without the environmental concerns normally associated with the use of oil as a heat transfer fluid,” Fosco said. “Water is also a more safe option than oil. The latest HB-Therm TCUs are yet another example of the Frigel Diamond Service advantage, which combines a scientific approach and innovation to give processors the cooling solution matched to their exact needs. The result is increased productivity, profitability and quality.”

The high-temperature water HB-Therm TCUs complement the existing line of HB-Therm water TCUs rated to deliver and maintain process-cooling water from 100^oC (212^oF) to 180^oC (355^oF).

The portable HB-Therm units are highly compact with footprints from 1.3 to 3.2 square feet. With the HB-Therm racking system, users can easily stack multiple units together to deliver precise cooling to as many as eight mold zones and with an available central control module for as many as 16 separate zones. Key features of HB-Therm TCUs include:

• User-friendly digital controls for highly accurate and automatic optimization of temperature control. The controls eliminate temperature fluctuations and also support rapid startup. In addition, users can record operating data for up to 10 molds.
• A unique, non-contact heater design ensures process water does not come into contact with the heater. As such, it eliminates scaling and stress cracks, in turn, increasing heater reliability and longevity.
• Seal-free, stainless steel pumps eliminate seal replacement costs. Additionally, the reversible pumps are designed to allow for convenient mold evacuation. Non-corrosive construction minimizes wear and increases pump life.
• Ultrasonic flow meters detect changes in flow rate and issue an alarm if the rate violates limit settings, in turn, helping ensure product and part quality. The flow meters also allow for fast responses and highly accurate temperature control even at low flow rates, further contributing to product and part quality.

In addition to the latest HB-Therm TCU, Frigel will display numerous innovations at NPE2018. Frigel’s presence at NPE also extends beyond its exhibits with 31 Frigel units operating in 13 booths of leading plastics machinery manufacturers, which is unprecedented for any process-cooling equipment company.

Frigel has been a worldwide market leader in intelligent process cooling since the 1960s. Foremost among Frigel’s products is Ecodry, a unique, internationally patented, closed-loop intelligent cooling system that has been proven at more than 5,500 manufacturing installations worldwide. Ecodry, an environmentally friendly cooling solution, keeps cooling water clean, delivers substantial savings on water, chemicals, energy and maintenance. Frigel also manufactures and markets the unique, cycle-time improving Microgel combination chiller/temperature control units (TCUs), as well as Turbogel and Thermogel TCUs, Aquagel pumping and filtration equipment and Heavygel central chillers.