Plate for heat exchangers

SECTOR

Heat exchangers' manufacturers

The heat exchanger is a device that transfers continuously heat from one fluid to another. They usually have a long life cycle and withstand both high temperatures and extremely high pressures.

On the market there are different types of heat exchangers, which are used in:

Air conditioning and heat pumps
Residential heating and domestic hot water, both underfloor and through radiators
Refrigeration systems

OUR CUSTOMER

Alfa Laval

Alfa Laval is a Swedish company and leading global provider of first-rate products in the areas of heat transfer, separation and fluid handling.

Alfa Laval is headquartered in Lund, Sweden and has subsidiary companies in over 35 countries around the world, including South Africa, Denmark, Italy, India, Japan, China, Netherlands, and the United States.

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THE PROBLEM

Copper-brazed plate heat exchangers production

Brazed plate heat exchangers consist of coupled plates made of steel and copper, and are used in a wide range of applications including cooling, heating, evaporation and condensation.
They offer several advantages, such as excellent pressure resistance to thermal fatigue, maximum reliability and small footprint.
A production phase of this type of heat exchangers involves the coupling of the steel with the copper on each plate. Alfa Laval was looking for a partner who could take care of both the plate realization and the application of the copper layer.

OUR SOLUTION

A special coupled-blanking system

Thanks to our consolidated experience in the field of blanking and in the design and construction of molds for complex parts, we developed a special production process for the customer, which involves the blanking of steel and copper at the same time, using progressive / transfer mixed molds, where copper it is coupled integrally with the steel, in order to facilitate handling and assembly.

Once sheared, the plate for heat exchangers is washed and finally ready to be delivered to the customer for the subsequent coupling at 900° C. At that temperature, copper melts and sealing is obtained by capillarity on the entire surface of the plate.
This allows the customer to eliminate a production phase and related costs, and to obtain plates ready to be assembled and compliant with market specifications.
Athena is also testing the possibility of cleaning and washing components during blanking, in order to reduce waste water, polluting oils and further optimize the process.

I prodotti

Metal parts: steel brackets, steel flanges, and washers

Metal items in steel, stainless steel, aluminium, brass and many other alloys, obtained with punching systems. We can internally finish these components with mechanical processing, corrections, thermal treatments and welding.

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