Air conveyors are a clean, efficient and precision way to move substrates from glass to PET; far outperforming mechanical rollers. This non-contact handling is critical to Flat Panel Display (FPD) and Photovoltaic (PV) Solar Panel manufacturing. It avoids yield reducing contact damage and also flattens so is excellent for inspection.
The Flat Panel Display (FPD) manufacturing industry has stringent requirements for the handling, processing and inspection of glass; where glass can be considered a semi-flexible substrate. Precision, non-contact handling of the glass is required for both optical inspection and for LCD printing. Vacuum pre-loaded air bearings control the vertical height of the glass within < 5 µm for inspection. Vacuum grooves, distributed within the bearing, are used to improve vertical stiffness during printing. This also allows high speed transport at fixed height while avoiding take-off. Similar techniques are also used in Photovoltaic Solar Panel processing.
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> Precision zone conveyor air bearings
In the electronics industry high throughput printing on large rolls or webs is replacing batch processing to fabricate substrates on a larger scale. Air turns offer an alternative to conventional rollers which utilises porous media to provide a thin and stiff cushion of air that supports moving substrates. Air is pushed through millions of micron-scale holes and allows a web to turn up to 180° without ever contacting a roller. They eliminating the friction and wear associated with conventional web handling rollers; avoiding any mechanical contact with the substrate, substantially reducing defects and contamination in the roll-to-roll production cycle. They also exclude vibration and charging effects.
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> Air turns
In printed electronics production lines, webs typically vibrate in the vertical direction over 300 microns. For in-line inspection or processing these web vibrations should be stabilised below 10 microns. Vacuum pre-load air tables suck the web onto a cushion of air and reduce vibrations even to micron level stability. Nanometer inspection can be achieved in foils; including when moving at 10 m/min foil velocity.
Products:
> Precision zone conveyor air bearings
