Cannon V.A.I. - Vacuum-Assisted Injection Technology for Refrigerators Production Cannon Group
The Shanghai Summit 2011 gave the opportunity to Italian and Chinese government officials, academic and industry leaders and media to discuss innovative options for the conservation of energy and explore how transformational opportunities can contribute to economic growth and environmental sustainability.
One hundred selected attendants were hosted for a full day
meeting on September 9, 2011 in DOW’s modern R&D Centre in
Pudong, Shanghai.
Themes as the chemistry of DOW’s PASCAL™ Technology, the
Cannon Vacuum Assisted Injection dynamics, their industrial
application at Haier, the commitment of Chinese and Italian
Government’s Agencies for the sustainable development of China,
and the defence of intellectual property in China were presented
with lectures held by qualified speakers.
A panel discussion among the top ranking representatives of DOW, Cannon, the Italian Ministry for Environment, the Chinese Household Appliances Association and members of
the international Press concluded the event. Numerous personal contacts were held with the attending members of the Chinese and international refrigerator industry, all very keen to learn more about this innovative technology.
V.A.I. (Vacuum-Assisted Injection)
An injection method introduced in 1998 - applying vacuum into the mould cavity where insulated sandwich panels are manufactured with the discontinuous production process - the vacuumassisted injection has now successfully been applied to the geometrically much more complex design of domestic refrigerators.
A controlled degree of vacuum is applied into the jig where an empty refrigerator cabinet is positioned, prior to the foaming operation.
The reduced pressure applied into the cavity during the injection and the expansion of the foam facilitates the filling of the cabinet,
providing substantial benefits:
- almost doubled productivity per foaming station, thanks to the possibility to use high
reactivity formulations providing a faster demoulding time.
- optimized distribution of foam density throughout the whole cabinet.
A tight co-operation with The Dow Chemical Company allowed for the joint-development of PASCAL™, an innovative technological solution that draws new frontiers in the production of
refrigerators. The new Polyurethane chemistry developed by Dow for this technology reduces the foam thermal conductivity to a new reference level, while maintaining the density within the
industry-accepted levels and allowing for a shorter polymerization time.
Several patents have been applied by the two companies in their respective fields of activity. The first industrial plant working with the Cannon V.A.I. technology is in located in P.R. of China, producing Class A++++ Haier refrigerators.
Featuring an electric consumption of 0.19 kwh/24 hrs
(against an average of 0.30 – 0.40 kwh/24 hrs of comparable
competitor’s models) these domestic two-door fridges were
officially launched in March 2011 at the World Appliance
Expo in Shanghai.
Cannon have developed for this technology the new V.A.I.
polymerization jig, in which the refrigerator cabinet is
maintained under a controlled degree of vacuum during the
whole period of the foam’s injection.
A further technical development – the new RotoJig, a foaming
fixture hosting two polymerization jigs mounted on the opposite
sides of a rotating platform (picture, left) – allows for the
reduction of the plant’s floor space by 50% and to speed up
the foaming cycle.
In order to produce a refrigerator characterized by the same thermal conductivity in all its components, the vacuum-assisted injection technology has been extended to the door’s
production method: the well known “Drum” Unit – a rotating multiple-mould manufacturing tool originally patented by Cannon in the early 1980’s – has been redesigned applying the vacuum
capability, obtaining for the doors the same advantages described for the cabinets.
For more info please visit http://vai.cannon.com and http://www.dowpascal.com
22 September 2011
