Panel heating element

ceramicfor thermoforminginfrared

As a key part of their on-site manufacture, Xtratherm are reliant on a thermoforming process to achieve a preformed finish on certain products. Specific cavity wall insulation blocks come engineered as preformed corner panels, or are designed to feature preformed slots to prevent board creep during installation, or specially designed flutes to deflect moisture, all giving protection from wind and rain. As a major part of their manufacturing for these products, Xtratherm has a heavy reliance on their in-house thermoforming process. With ongoing quality and maintenance issues with their current set-up leading to costly delays and downtime, they approached Ceramicx to propose and custom-build a replacement system. As continued suppliers for many of Xtratherm’s spare and replacement infrared heating elements, the foundations of a successful partnership with Ceramicx were already in place. Working directly with their experienced team, we were able to identify the key problem areas in their current system and generate drawings and full specifications to create a new thermoforming system. After further research and development, final functional system specs and production design drawings were submitted for approval. With full optimisation across the client’s efficiency and process specifications, the plans met the high standard required for Xtratherm’s production output. Xtratherm’s choice of x 132 industry-standard Ceramicx square flat, hollow ceramic elements, arranged in 22 x 6 heater arrays, was key to their new set-up. Producing a shorter heat up time, SFEH elements are more energy-efficient and produce a diffused radiant output.