Technology Research Center – NY, USA
Let Harper help bring your next material innovation from spark to reality. Hundreds of companies have used our Technology Research Center for process development and process optimization as they work toward commercial scale-up or with systems requiring unique process specifications.
Customers can utilize numerous on site thermal systems to gather data and fine tune their processes, with a focus on varying production rates, temperature regimes, processing times, atmosphere compositions, and flow rates, resulting in savings on the investment ultimately required for new thermal processing systems.
Harper has a wide variety of thermal systems that can handle your process conditions. Additionally, we have the ability to make modifications to tailor the existing pilot equipment to specific customer process requirements. Our range of equipment on site includes -
- Batch or continuous furnaces
- Sizes from small kilns to large furnaces, with 3 temperature zones
- Furnace conditions from atmospheric to nitrogen or specialty gases, with temperatures up to 2500°C
Harper also provides a variety of analytical services to help you monitor and better optimize your process. These include on-site facilities such as gas analysis (critical to ensuring compliance with environmental regulations) as well as off-site facilities such as electron microscopy, thermal and elemental analysis.
As a result of their experience in the testing and feasibility stage, many customers work with Harper to conduct in-depth studies to determine equipment requirements and help define process parameters for optimal plant design to assist with technical and business strategy and financial planning. Our vast capabilities in thermal processing engineering studies include, but are not limited to:
- process cost models
- economics of increased production capacity with current and future state technologies
- analysis of best-suited thermal process technology system for new material innovations
- identification of opportunities for improved product quality and cost reduction
- investigation of solutions for transition from batch to continuous processing
- engineering of material handling solutions for unique processing systems
Pilot Line Facility – Portugal
Harper offers its complete carbon fiber pilot process line in Lavradio, Portugal as an open reference and capabilities demonstration to select Harper clients. This facility includes Harper’s proprietary multi-flow oxidation ovens, advanced LT and HT slot furnaces rated for 800°C and 1800°C respectively, surface treatment and waste gas abatement systems, and winders.
Here, Harper clients can utilize the facility for validation of their carbon fiber process, confirmation of material quantities to enable downstream research, assessment of feasibility of continuous operations, and validation of design parameters for further scale up.