Radio Frequency (RF)

ETAC helps businesses evaluate and test applications of radio frequency drying, heating and curing technology that can benefit their manufacturing processes.

• About Radio Frequency
• Industrial Uses of Radio Frequency
• How Radio Frequency Can Benefit Your Business
• Read about how Advanced Polymer Technologies benefited from using radio frequency drying technologies.
• Learn about ETAC's radio frequency specialists. Joe Cresko, Neal R. Griffing, Eugene Hoffman, Preston L. Roberts and Dr. Mike Vasilik.
• Send a question to an ETAC radio frequency expert. ETAC experts will answer radio frequency questions every Wednesday, or sooner if necessary.

About Radio Frequency

Radio frequency utilizes electromagnetic waves in the radio frequency spectrum to dry nonmetallic materials. Energy is transferred directly into an object, which results in uniform heating throughout the entire object. Convection ovens heat material from the surface inward, so heating and drying does not occur at a uniform rate. Radio frequency drying is gaining favor in the textiles, food, wood products and plastics/composites industries.

Industrial Uses of Radio Frequency
Radio frequency technology improves product quality because heat-sensitive materials are not exposed to high temperatures for a long period of time. Industrial uses include:

• Drying of yarn, dyed garments and food.
• Postbaking of crackers and cookies.
• Drying of plastic resins prior to injection molding.
• Preheating of plastics prior to curing.
• Controlling moisture content of wood.
• Joining of composites and advanced materials.

How Radio Frequency Technology Can Benefit Your Business
There are several ways that radio frequency technology may benefit your process or product including:

• Significantly reduces drying time, from days to minutes in some cases.
• Avoids uneven shrinkage or over-drying because radio waves concentrate in the wettest, densest areas of material.
• Allows precise and instant temperature changes using electronic controls.
• Uses less energy and results in less waste than a convection oven.
• Saves up to 30% more floor space compared with hot houses and other conventional dryers.
• Reduces maintenance and downtime, because RF equipment has few moving parts.

To learn more about how radio frequency technology can benefit your business, contact us.