Since the inception of laser technology, the interest for zero joint technologies continued to swell. The most popular alternative has been hot-air technology.
AirTec technology is a welding process to apply edgeband to boards in place of conventional hot-melt adhesive through the use of hot-air activation of a functional layer applied to the reverse of the edging.The functional layer, made of a special polymer is applied to the edging thus eliminating the need for any additional hot-melt glue application in the edgebander itself. This eliminates the need for heating-up time and glue tank changing for different edge colours.
Hot-air units use the very simple principle of compressed hot air (400-500° C) to perform the melting of the functional layer applied to the reverse of the hot-air edging. This activates that layer and bonds the edging to the panel fibers.
In addition, it is environmentally friendly providing a clean, green technology that eliminates glue and fumes.
Cost-effective
The hot-air system offers a cost-effective alternative to other fusion technologies in the market and boasts reduced set-up costs and is ready to use immediately.
Hot-air is ideal for clean working due to the omission of adhesives, cleaning and release agents, and there is less maintenance and production work and no need to purchase and storage adhesives.
ProAir from Portugese edging specialist is an ABS edging with a special functional layer on the reverse of the edging. This layer consists of a special polymer that is activated using the hot-air technology.
Because no hot-melt adhesive is used, staining/discolouring of the joint is minimised. It is an adhesive based zero-joint solution which enhances the adhesives properties and the overall resistance to heat, water, moisture and dirt while giving a very good optical zero-joint finish.
Advantages
The advantages of ProAir is that it allows a ideal transition from edging to panel with clear advantages in terms of technical and optical results: optical zero-joint finish, greater water and moisture resistance, better heat resistance, less sensitive to dirt
The ProAir edging was specifically developed by Proadec to match the specific parameters of modern hot-air units.
It is produced in a dedicated extrusion line and features a special functional layer based on top materials in order to assure a high quality edging for hot air processing. For its quality and reliability, ProAir differentiates from other airTec edging in the market as its special polymer functional layer enhances robustness and usability of any item of furniture.
The adhesion properties and the resistance to heat, moisture and water is greatly improved. As the functional layer is less sensitive to dirt, ageing is a thing of the past.
Specifications – ABS
It is a available in unicolours, fantasies and woodgrains in widths from 16-60mm and thicknesses from 1-2mm. All ABS finishes are available and it also comes in lacquered finishes, both matt and high gloss.
In terms of Pro-Air’s application, in most cases in the market, a change in the edging width or thickness and/or a change to a different colour means the processing parameters also need to be changed. Not with ProAir – this is only possible because the functional layer of ProAir is adjusted in production according to the edging specifications (colour, thickness) and therefore the key application parameters for each equipment do not need to change according to the thickness or colour of the edging.
ProAir edging was extensively tested over many months and optimised to be ready for the market. To further improve this product, Proadec purchased a Biesse AirTec edgebander in order to carry out internally all the testes needed to approve and test the quality of ProAir. Specification guidelines were produced as the exact application parameters vary according to the machine manufacturer.
01322 389932
www.proadec.co.uk
