Radio Frequency Drying of Latex Adhesive on Carpet

Abstract

We studied the feasibility of using a radio frequency (RF) oven to dry and cure latex adhesive backing on tufted nylon carpet. The drying and curing step in the backcoating operation often limits production speed. Numerous backcoating machines are running at relatively low speeds (in the neighborhood of 15 mpm), which cannot be increased by adding to the oven length because floor space is limited. Since RF ovens generally require much less floor space than convection ovens, we investigated increasing production speeds of dryer-limited backcoaters by retrofitting with RF ovens. Installing an RF oven along with a conventional convection oven, especially as a preheater, offers significant advantages in this regard.