Menges Roller, a designer and manufacturer of precision industrial rollers for the plastics, paper and steel industries, was recognized for using CFD (computational fluid dynamics) to design better heat transfer rollers.

Heat transfer rollers, sometimes called “chill rollers”, are a Menges specialty, and AIMCAL (Association of International Metallizers, Coaters & Laminators) has awarded Menges its sole 2014 Technology of the Year Award.

Menges Roller, led by company president Matt Menges, was presented the award March 16 at the annual AIMCAL Management Meeting in Phoenix, AZ. “We are very pleased to win this award,” says Menges. “My team has worked hard to perfect the use of this technology for our customers, so it’s great to see my peers recognize our good work.”

Menges Roller has steadily increased its presence in the field of liquid-filled double-shelled heat transfer rollers.

The technology for which Menges won this award involves the use of high-tech computer models to simulate a rollers’ temperature and performance characteristics, allowing engineers to test different designs “virtually.” The company says this saves huge amounts of time and money, while making R&D results more reliable. Rollers designed using Menges’ CFD Thermal Modeling Technology are guaranteed to achieve the temperatures modeled in their computer simulations, which the company says brings a new level of assurity to industrial roller performance, taking the guesswork out of temperature control and thermal transfer calculations.