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Light Air Turns: Customized Products from New Way

Light Air Turns: Customized Products from New Way

Learn how New Way applies proven frictionless technology to create custom solutions.

As the roll-to-roll manufacturing industry grows, contamination concerns have driven the case for noncontact air turns. When making the switch from traditional contact rollers, it can be overwhelming deciding which air turn on the market will work for your product. How do you navigate through the options to choose the one suitable for YOUR project? What if you have unique requirements, such as a weight restriction requiring a ‘light’ air turn, as compared to the heavier aluminum frame of most air turns on the market? Now what?

At New Way®, we work with customers to understand their requirements and create an air turn suited for their unique needs.

The previous example of a weight restriction was a real issue a customer presented to New Way. After working closely with the customer to understand all of their constraints, New Way was able to create an innovative design using carbon fiber to create a light air turn. Here’s an excerpt of testing performed on this custom light air turn:

Bringing our Expertise to Bear

Roll-to-roll processes are found across a wide range of industries, including:

  • Flexible Displays
  • Semiconductors
  • Solar PV cells
  • Labeling/Printing
  • Metrology Equipment
  • Printed and Flexible Electronics

With such a variety of products, it comes as no surprise that there can be unique requirements.

Light Air TurnsThe light air turn is just one example of how New Way has worked with a client to develop a customized solution. While New Way prides itself on offering a cost-conscious, standard line of air bearing products, some clients still need modifications or a completely unique component. In those cases, New Way is able to capitalize on 30 years of experience working directly with clients to integrate frictionless solutions into their system. New Way’s team of engineers works tirelessly to find a frictionless solution using Porous Media Technology™ as its foundation.

Using the air turn as an example, New Way is able to take custom length, diameter, interface definition and any other unique requirements to design an air turn. For the light air turn, New Way collaborated with the customer to find a ‘lighter’ material instead of the standard aluminum material. New Way products have a sample and typical condition specification from which to start the design process. For Air Turns, Table 1 provides a subset of specifications and conditions. As seen in the video, New Way also has extensive test protocols to measure capabilities to ensure product satisfaction.

Unique Products Warrant Innovative Solutions

If you’re ready to try air turns, let us help you create the solution for YOUR unique production environment. Instead of just purchasing a standard air turn and ‘making it work’ within your system, partner with us to create one specific to your requirements. As we work through the development together, you can feel confident about the end result. The demand for flexible electronics is growing as you are reading this, requiring greater production and quality. New Way provides a complimentary consultation, so contact us today and we can start discussing solutions to meet your unique requirements. We consider it a privilege to work side-by-side with our customers to develop the right solution for them!

Learn More About the Porous Media Difference