Continuous plant for insulated sandwich panels

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It is well known fact that we cannot keep going on
indiscriminately consuming energy resources of our
planet on a global basis.

Therefore, a part from utilising energy sources different

from oil and natural gas, the most effective way to grow
in a sustainable way is simply to save energy wherever
it is spent. It is true that as Cannon is strategically
present in this market where national governments
promote energy efficiency on a worldwide basis to
achieve healthier economies, a cleaner environment, and
greater energy security.

Usually it requires time to develop new technologies,

requires time to scale-up new technologies but Energy
efficiency is cheap, clean, and quick.
Within Cannon strategy of Smart Technology Save Energy,
our global approach is perfectly matching the above
mentioned concepts also taking in consideration that
another activity of Cannon group is involved in high
efficiency energy production and environmental
sustainability.

Cannon, in the past and even more today and in the future,
can offer the best product portfolio counting on the proven
experience of technical and process engineers able to offer,
design, manufacture, test and run the most sophisticated
sandwich panels continuous and discontinuous production
lines. When the targeted panel market is identified the
continuous lines, due to the high productivity, are the most
effective solutions for satisfying highly demanding panel
producers.
Rigid polyurethane foam with its ideal strength to
weight ratio, thermal and acoustic insulation properties,
durability, and unmatched versatility, ensures high
performance and exceptional energy efficiency in a wide
range of applications: building, warehouses,
prefabricated structures, roofs and walls, sectional
doors, ducts and air conditioning systems, soundproofing
cabins, cold stores, walk-in-coolers, pipes network for
water/oil/heating distribution.

Crios, the Cannon division dedicated to continuous

sandwich panel production, can benefit of the customers
opinion about the qualifying points that can be
summarized according to:
Complete in house Italian production of the most
critical and sophisticated parts of the plant including the
dosing machine, decoilers, roll forming machine, double
belt, cutting and staking equipment and, last but not
least, control and monitoring panels for supervising the
line. The quality of the final products strictly depends on
the precision on the realization of mentioned equipment.
Engineering and design of the equipment together with
machining accuracy and quality controls allow for
effective panel production.

Dosing equipment produced by Afros, Cannon division

for metering machines, is worldwide recognised the
state of the art in this sector.
New development concerning the mixing head, air dosing
and foam distribution system are now available on the
market for those demanding customers asking for
consistent performance.
Double Belt, patented screw driven driving system,
machining precision and strict quality control are
avoiding undesired markings due to polygonal effect to
the movement of the panel through the press.
Decoilers and relevant automation for cutting, joining,
matching, embossing, on the fly presses, roll forming
equipment are designed to reduce as much as possible
the length of the line nevertheless granting easy access
for maintenance. These hidden costs for the clients are
taken in due consideration during the design phase of
the project starting from the proposal phase.
Fast Cutting precision, staking and suction hood design
allows for a clean working environment, easy maintenance
equipment reliability.
Tank farming for control and the acquisition of chemicals
needed for the continuous production are engineered and
designed for optimal storage and temperature control.
The capacity to handle turnkey projects, from the large
storage tank farms for the raw materials to the panels
packing equipment including all the safeties, production
planning and control protocols.
The capacity to speak the customers' language
technology wise, proposing solutions tailored to their
actual needs are key factors for conscious and fulfilling
technical investments.
Local presence with local companies and offices offering
qualified service engineers and spare part from stock.
All above mentioned features and the care for the
complete design of Cannon continuous sandwich panel
lines is positively effecting the plant availability for the
production is allowing our customers for a reduced level
of downtime for line configuration, shutdowns, rejects
(sometimes below 2 %!) and optimal utilisation of the raw
material used. This is counting for our customer
competitiveness on a market that shall be more and
more demanding for optimisation and quality assurance
thus reducing the panel cost.
When manufacturing complex "turn-key" foaming
systems Cannon adopt modular development criteria to
offer unbeatable flexibility during configuration.
This choice also means that the actual line can be expanded
at a later stage with the addition of extra modules.

Roof & Wall Panels

Sandwich insulated panels can be produced with a
maximum thickness of 250 mm and either flexible
(paper, cardboard and felt, centesimal aluminium sheet, etc.)
or rigid facing (metal sheet, GRP, etc.) and using different
types of insulating materials: polyurethanes, PIR, phenolic
resins, mineral wools.
Panels with rigid or flexible facing can be part of the building
structure and in many cases substitute traditional
constructive materials offering better thermal and acoustic
insulation properties. These panels improve the look and
utility of the building as well as its speeding-up construction
and reducing the amount of expensive wood necessary for
structural frames, saving time and energy and protecting
natural resources as well. On request, Cannon can also provide complete solutions for
the production of insulated panels with an external curved,
Curved Panels for Roofing grooved facing from cement fibres.
Dedicated presses and foaming plants for the manufacture The internal flat facing can also be made with either cement
of curved panels are also available. fibres or painted steel with a polyurethane core, with the
Typically a sandwich curved metal panel insulated with possibility to produce models of different sizes and shapes.
polyurethane and internal microribbed liner is used either
as new roofing elements or for the replacement of Sectional & Garage Doors
fibre-cement slabs. Sectional doors and garage doors are another interesting
The continuous thickness of the polyurethane insulating application niche where sandwich insulated panels are
material provided an excellent barrier against the successfully applied.
dispersion of heat in winter and the entry of the sun's rays in
summer, giving the panel a pleasant, elegant appearance. The sectional door comes from a simple and effective
In addition, it is important to point out that foamed-in-place concept that consists of dividing the door into panels to
insulation delivers the highest energy efficiency and creates be lifted and lowered vertically or moved horizontally,
a strong, well-insulated monolithic panel. making it modern-looking (attractive doors with various
styles, shapes, profiles, finishing and colour options),
extremely practical with the great advantage of a reduced
space required for the opening/closing phases.
Commercial sectional door and residential garage door
panels can be shaped with an attractive stucco embossed
painted profile, natural look wood grain style, embossed
surfaces, with shadow lines for added strength.
The panels are produced in both continuous and
discontinuous processes: the result is a solid and
aesthetically pleasing sandwich strong enough to bear
commercial abuses. Foamed-in-place PU insulation is
highly efficient giving these panels twice as much energy
efficiency as polystyrene.
Air Conditioning & Ventilation Ducts
Typically, conditioning systems are made of simple trimmed
metal sheet panels, presenting some negative aspects:
the life-span of the parts is compromised by the formation
of rust, acoustic and thermal insulation is very poor,
furthermore, on forced air distribution systems, a quarter of
the energy used for conditioning is wasted through intrinsic
system losses close to ducts and junctions.
As an alternative to the standard machinery for insulated
sandwich panels with metal facing, Cannon has
developed a new production process for metal-free
panels. Instead of using metal sheet, the structural
external layer is made of formed composite sheets or
glass-fibre-reinforced PU, resulting in a whole plastic
panel characterized by its lightweight and excellent
structural properties and unbeatable energy efficiency.
Polyurethane foam is a proven insulating material
recognized for its reliability, durability and efficiency.
Its outstanding insulation properties prevent heat loss, or
alternatively maintain temperatures, over an extremely
wide range of conditions, from extreme cold environments
to ones of intense heat, without freezing or cracking.
Dosing, Mixing & Foaming
The Cannon high-pressure multi-component dosing unit
(number of components according to chemical
formulation) equipped with magnetic coupling, inverters,
mass flow meters and double diaphragm pumps
represents the state of the art for this task.
Modular concept is driving the design of this unit, completely
assembled and delivered in a package configuration in order
to facilitate the local assembly of the line.
Features and Advantages
Automatic, fine and precise tuning of the chemical dosing.
Process data logger enables the acquisition of all the
dosing data allowing an easy control, fine tuning,
storage and continuous monitoring of the working
parameters (flows, temperatures, pressures).
When hydrocarbon-based blowing agents (i.e. Pentanes)
are used, the whole foaming equipment is specially
configured with dedicated raw material storage,
premixing unit, explosion-proof devices and active
ventilation system to comply with the most stringent
safety standards and rules.
The foamed insulating material, polyurethane, PIR or
phenolic resins, is poured by means of single or
multiple dedicated mixing head assembled and driven
by a bar transversally sliding bar providing optimal
foam distribution.
Fixed type single or multiple mixing heads can be
supplied, with adjustable position, in order to allow easy
setup of the line when flexible facing is processed and
the double belt speeds are over 20 m/min.
Phenolic Resin Insulation
The high pressure mixing head, self cleaning type, is
fitted with RE.CO. (Remote Control) of the nozzle thus When using phenolic resins, the dosing unit, storage
allowing a correct mixing, reduced scraps and for chemicals, mixing head and all the parts in
downturns for maintenance. contact with them are designed to handle corrosive
Traverse speed profiles and control allow for correct and high-viscosity liquids. The resin component
and even wetting of the lower medium in order to could also contain up to 50% in weight of solid fillers
prevent defects. to improve the already excellent resistance to fire of
Cameras allow for the control of the foaming front, these foams. The operative viscosity of the
monitoring, recording and continuous adjustment. component is expected to be around 50,000 cps.

Mineral Wool Insulation

Regularly-cut strips of mineral wool are fed between
the two metal formed sheets immediately following a
station where a two component PUR adhesive has
just been applied by spraying the inner metal
surfaces using a double dispensing machine and two
mixing guns.

Features and Advantages

Continuous line provides Dual Use with PUR/PIR
and Mineral Wool filling material.
The MW (Mineral Wool) section can be
independently added in a second stage or within
the original layout.
Cannon supplies the complete MW handling
system including strips cutting, handling and
positioning and gluing on the lower layer.
Cannon Belt Conveyor is suitable both for PUR/PIR
applications and MW ones.
Decoilers
Unwinding group is composed of two or four decoilers,
equipped with an automatic loading and positioning
system of the coil on the relevant mandrel.

Advantages
The coilers are arranged in pairs in order to achieve
fast production changes. When one coil is working the
second one is set for the new production.
Cannon innovative design foresees that coil car is a
fixed item, while mandrel is moving toward it.
Safety, control and easy coil change is enhanced.

Roll Forming Machine

Profiling line for wall panels complete with micro ribbing
device to shape the rigid facing and form the junctions.
Roof panels require deeper ribs and a dedicated set of
forming rolls for the external sheet layer.
The system is designed for fast replacement of the
forming rolls (cassette system). Typically the group is
based on a two-levels configuration to separately profile
the lower and upper layers.
Tile roof panel continuous production line can be
provided by Cannon using dedicated roll forming
cassette and on th fly presses.
Advantages
Complete set of equipment enabling quick set up of
the production line to reduce change over times.
Wide production range including wall, roof, tile roof
design for customers wide products portfolio.
Pre-Heating Tunnel
This keeps the formed sheets at a desired temperature in
order to achieve good foam adhesion and the final quality
of the sandwich panels.
Mineral Wool Insulation
Rock wool panels are specially designed and
require to meet "fire safety" requirements both
for the construction of new buildings and the
renovation of existing premises.
When the insulation material is not self-adhesive,
i.e. mineral wool, the equipment for sheet
forming and panel cutting will not change, while
in parallel to the metal profiling group, dedicated
devices are integrated for mineral wool mattress
loading, cutting (either in-line or off-line),
handling and gluing.
Advantages
For those customers requiring Dual use
equipment, i.e. PUR/PIR and mineral wool
sandwich panels, Cannon is able to design
dedicated lines providing a wider product
portfolio and enhanced fire resistance properties.
Cannon Belt Conveyor
The Cannon double belt conveyor represents the core
of the line. It consists of two high precision conveyor belts
that are supporting the pressure generated by the foam
reaction thus ensuring a perfect panel flatness.

The gap between the two belts is adjustable by means of

gears and motors, allowing the processing of panels with
different thicknesses.
The upper and lower sections are independently heated
in order to obtain different temperatures and optimum
foam polymerisation and final panel stability.
Forced air ventilation with isolated, over-mounted ducts
assures the correct process differentiated temperature of
the two platens for the foam correct polymerisation.
Design temperature is over 80C.

A Cannon patented, innovative drive is fitted to the

conveyor: independent electric motors operate two
endless screws mounted on each double belt section thus
assuring a perfect linear speed avoiding the polygonal
effect. This technical solution is characterised by a
lower maintenance and reduced wearing of moving parts.
Features and Advantages
High precision manufacturing of the components Simultaneous lift up/down fine movement for thickness
assures flatness, parallelism and final quality for the adjustment is realized by means of spindle gears all
panel. along the conveyor sections. Over 220 mm panel
Endless screw driven driving system, hardened sliding thicknesses can be processed, 350 mm gap is foreseen
guides assures smooth, plane and parallel movement for maintenance.
of the double belt preventing scratches and geometric Bituminous paper, Kraft paper, aluminium foil, fibre
im10Linear absolute dedicated encoders assure glass can be used for flexible facing panel production.
negligible shear stress on the panel due to perfect Design speed of the belt conveyor is over 60 m/min.
motors synchronization of the double belt .
Air ducts design warrants important energy saving as
well as differential temperature control on the upper
and lower conveyor. The overhanging design assures a
reduced foot print to plant layout.
Panel width adjustment is realized by means of lateral
caterpillars fitted with two motors and frequency
controlled drive units installed on each side of the
conveyor and synchronized with main line speed.
This assures a perfect lateral containment to the foam
thrust.
Special modular lateral containment plates are
foreseen in order to allow a fast width adjustment.
The thickness is adjusted by means of endless screw
with dedicated motors.
Cutting Equipment
Downstream the Cannon double belt conveyor, the
sandwich panel is sized by a dedicated on the fly
cutting machine to the desired length. Disk or band saw
configurations are available according to specific needs.

Movements for longitudinal and transversal cutting are

electronically programmed and controlled.
Efficient sound deadening box, flash trimming suction
and filtering systems are completing the cutting section
to assure clean and safe environmental conditions.

Blade Saw Features and Advantages

Single or double synchronized carriers are available for
very short panel sizes cutting.
Overlapping cutting can be done in one step.
Easy cutting for ribbed panel design.
Effective, easy trimming and panel edge cleaning.
Long lasting tools and easy, fast replacement
and maintenance.
Cooling Section
The high thickness panels need to be properly cooled
before stacking in order to avoid heat accumulation thus
preventing wavy surfaces, bulges, foam tears and
scorching. Dedicated cooling system with vertically
oriented designed pockets can be installed to dissipate
the heat generated by the chemical process (curing) with
natural draft air circulation system.

Band Saw Features and Advantages Features and Advantages

Dedicated to high panel thicknesses, high quality cut
and trimming.
Saw blade reverse (180) for fast cutting and short
panels' sizes.
Cutting precision due to reduced blade thickness.
Foam shrinking is almost completed before the cooler
releases the panel and wrapping process is not
affected by the heat.
Uniform air circulation is lapping both panel facing in
order to have an even cooling effect distribution.
Handling Systems
Handling systems are designed in order to allow a
correct flow of the production separating high quality
grades from secondary ones.

Features and Advantages

The stacking system provides for uniform piles
according to the sizes of the panels.
Roof ribbed panels are alternatively tilted in order to
obtain a more compact stacking and better load
distribution to avoid scratches and defects.
Suction cups are used to protect surfaces and lifting
non-magnetic facings.

Packing Machines
Wrapping packing unit is normally placed at the end of
the line thus assuring fully automatic operation.

Features and Advantages

Front /rear and longitudinal wrapping can be selected
for complete protection of the finished products.
Automatic positioning of EPS spacers allows for
finished products easy handling with fork lifts.
Cannon Controller for Process
Parameters
All production parameters are viewed, stored and
recorded in the Cannon Process Controller.
Every section is electronically connected to the others by
means of high speed communication lines.

Great reproducibility, operating safety, constant data

monitoring are key features of Cannon Process Controller.

Raw Materials Bulk Storage

Being a solution provider as well as a worldwide supplier
of complete plants, Cannon is also able to offer a full
package that includes chemicals and hydrocarbon
blowing agent storage equipment.

Tank farming for control and the acquisition of chemicals

needed for the continuous production are engineered and
designed for optimal storage and temperature control.
Cannon satisfies a wide range of customer's
requirements: from simple chemical bulk storage, up to
polyol/Cyclopentane blend storage, small bulk storage
for hydrocarbons and complete pentane storage systems.
 Africa Eastern Europe
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Worldwide Egypt
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With a global network of sales and service
operations, Cannon offer a useful and appreciated Chile Europe
local service with spare parts availability, laboratory Mexico Austria
usage for trials, technical advice and consultancy, U.S.A. Belgium
remote service connection, direct helpline Czech Republic
assistance and training courses. Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Netherlands
Norway
Portugal
Slovakia
Spain
Sweden
United Kingdom

Far East
China
Hong Kong
Indonesia
Indonesia
Japan
Korea
Malaysia
Philippines
Singapore
South Korea
Taiwan
Thailand
Vietnam

Middle East
India
Iran
Israel
Pakistan
Turkey

Oceania
Australia