Vaporizer System for Glass Surface Treatment

• There are many vaporizer system technologies that are useful for applying thin coatings, paints, and more in manufacturing processes.
• Many vaporizing technologies however are unreliable and do not produce consistent products and results from batch to batch.
• Using CEM technology, our Vapor Generation System can offer unprecedented accuracy, precision, and control while also enabling data logging, remote access, and more.

Applying paint or labels to surfaces can be trickier than one might expect. Just as in applying paint to a wall in one’s home, without properly preparing the surface, the result will be less than perfect. A leading manufacturer of glass coating equipment searches for a vaporizer system that can improve their coating process to increase competitive advantage.

The process involves flowing HMDSO (Hexamethyldisiloxane) vapor through a flame for the surface treatment of glass. The result is a hard SiOx-like (Silicone Oxide) thin film. This film leads to a more wettable surface prior to painting or labeling. Initially, the customer attempts to use a syphon tube in the liquid HMDSO source to suck up liquid. The liquid then injects into the fuel stream then into the burner. But this is not a very successful technique. As a result, the liquid flow is unreliable since liquid draw is based on gas velocity.

Old Vaporizer System Technologies Vs New Vapor Generation System Technologies

Next, the customer tries using a bubbler vaporizer system. With the bubbler, the customer found that the vaporization changes throughout the process. For example, the bubbler liquid depth, delta P, temperature, and other uncontrollable factors all effect the vaporizer process. Also, neither of these two processes provide recordable data feedback. Therefore, operators can only detect variations in surface treatment at final product during Quality Control.

However, we can provide a system where HMDSO vapor injects into the flame. This system uses Bronkhorst low flow instrumentation to offer high accuracy and precision control. This Vapor Generation System uses a mini CORI-FLOW mass flow controller for the control of HMDSO liquid in addition to an EL-FLOW Select thermal mass flow controller for the carrier gas. For the vaporizer component, a Controlled Evaporator Mixer (CEM) completely vaporizes the HMDSO and an E-8000 readout/control unit powers and controls the vaporizer system.

Benefits of a Controlled Evaporation Mixing Device for Vapor Generation

With the precision of this CEM Vaporizer System, the customer can reduce cost of materials by using the exact amount necessary. Furthermore, product quality improves as the Vapor Generation System automatically detects and adjusts for discrepancies early in the process. In addition, the customer is now receiving process data for documentation and review to continuously improve the process.

This Vapor Generation System integrates a CEM, a gas and a liquid flow meter, and a user-friendly, color touchscreen interface. As a result, operators can generate vapor in a highly accurate, repeatable, and controllable manner. This system offers high functionality including continuous operation, totalizing mode for batching, easy start/stop, and more. Best of all, this Vapor Generation System is ethernet enabled which means it can use Modbus or other ethernet protocols for data logging purposes. This allows analytical tracking in addition to granting remote access and monitoring.