Engineering

CAD Design

AutoDesk Inventor Series which includes AutoCad, Mechanical Desktop or 3D solid modeler generation of drawings and solid models for desiccant bags and desiccant cartridges. Flow Dry can export data in many different formats including DXF, DWG, IGES, BMP and PDF. Drawings can be sent via e-mail attachments, fax, or "snail mail" up to D size paper format. Or contact Flow Dry to set up an FTP area to download drawings as needed.

Prototypes

Flow Dry has a prototype lab where it fabricates hundreds of different styles of prototype and sample desiccant products every year. Customers receive quick turnaround time for samples along with design help.

Testing

Flow Dry has the capability to test pressure drop, seam strength, vibration, permeability and loss on ignition (LOI) on all its desiccant products.

Pressure Drop

Pressure drop testing is used to determine the amount of fluid flow restriction a receiver dryer or accumulator design creates. Less restrictive designs have the potential to create a higher performance a/c system. The desiccant package contained inside the receiver dryer or accumulator can create a restriction in the system and therefore increase the pressure drop of the system. Because pressure drop is a critical design requirement, Flow Dry utilizes a pressure drop tests to aid in designing the highest performance desiccant packages on the market.

Vibration

Vibration testing is used to determine if a desiccant package is designed to withstand the punishment it will be subjected to in a vehicle. If the desiccant package is not designed properly it could be damaged or cause damage to other components in the system. Flow Dry has the capability to test desiccant packages as installed in receiver dryers and accumulators to insure long life without premature failure.

Seam Strength

Along with vibration testing, seam strength testing is critical to insure structural integrity of the desiccant package. An automated pull tester checks the strength of package welds. SPC data of the seam strengths is recorded and monitored to insure proper process control.

Permeability

The physical properties of the material used to fabricate desiccant bags are critical to insure proper performance. The permeability of the bag material must be balanced to allow the desiccant exposure to the refrigerant, while at the same time containing any attrition of desiccant particles inside the bag. Because of its low cost and permeability properties, polyester felts have become the standard materials of construction for most a/c desiccant bags. Some desiccant bag fabricators form or stretch the bag material in the process of manufacturing; this distortion can weaken the material and change its permeability properties. Flow Dry fabricates its desiccant bags without stretching or forming the bag material to insure that the proper permeability rating is maintained. Extensive permeability testing is performed to insure all bags have the proper permeability rating.

Loss on Ignition (LOI)

The industry standard test to measure the amount of water that has been adsorbed by the desiccant is the Loss on Ignition test. To perform this test the desiccant must be heated for a specified period of time to bake out the water. The difference in the desiccant weight before and after heating is the amount of water the desiccant contained. LOI testing is performed on all incoming desiccant material; in-process packaging and outgoing product to insure the moisture content is maintained at specified levels.