Centrifugal blowers, air knives and drying systems instantly strip moisture from the outside of bottles and cans, creating a dry surface for labels as well as for other packaging operations like case-packing and date-code stamping.

While water is an essential element inside of many canned beverages, on the outside, it creates a slippery surface on containers as they travel – often at speeds upwards of 2,000 containers a minute – into the packaging process. Even the tiniest bubble on the outside surface can mar labels and disrupt jet-coded product identity or born-on dates. Precision is equal to speed in this process because producers cannot release unmarked products and consumers will avoid products with suspect shelf lives.

To increase quality control, some brewers and other food and beverage companies have turned to JetAir Technologies LLC, Ventura, Calif. (The company's systems can be found in the plants of companies such as Anheuser-InBev, Miller-Coors, Nestle, Coca-Cola and Pepsi.) JetAir uses direct-drive motors rather than belt-driven blowers to power its high-speed centrifugals for greater efficiency, smaller footprint and ease of installation and maintenance.

Because the drying process is a critical one that must keep pace with production, JetAir uses thermal-management equipment from Pfannenberg Inc., Lancaster, N.Y., to keep the control electronics for JetAir machines properly cooled.

Enlarge this picture Can-drying removes every last water bubble to provide a clean dry surface for labels and date codes.

Pfannenberg DTS 3181 cooling units were installed on the JetAir VFD control cabinets at a major bottling company. The DTS 3181 is the smallest unit available on the market with a large enough cooling capacity and able to use 460V power directly, according to Pfannenberg. The smaller units were also more aesthetically pleasing than larger units.

"With Pfannenberg's easy-maintenance filterless design, and units designed with a long internal air path, which feeds cold air to the bottom of the cabinet allowing it to cool the entire thing, it was an easy choice compared to other brands," says Dan Snyder, JetAir's vice president of engineering and development. "The standard corrosion inhibitor was also a big plus for protection against moisture and chemicals in certain areas."

Pfannenberg makes filter fans, cooling units, heaters, air/water heat exchangers, chillers, hygrostats and thermostats, all used for thermal management of industrial electrical enclosures. For more information, go to www.pfannenbergusa.com.