HNB, which means heat without burning, covers two major parts: heated cigarettes and smoking utensils. It is one of the types of new tobacco products. The terminal enterprises are mainly international tobacco giants. This article is the editor's visit to the information of heat without burning related enterprises in the past month. It is not guaranteed to be comprehensive and accurate, and is for reference only.
HNB cigarette section:
The sixth generation of products is one of the hot spots in the industry. The so-called sixth generation of products refers to the five generations of IQOS updates. The sixth generation completely subverts the previous version, that is, IQOS ILUMA. Its matching electromagnetic heating cigarettes embed electromagnetic induction metal sheets in the cigarettes, which perfectly solves the problem that the heating sheets of the fifth generation IQOS are easy to break.
However, PMI has laid out a large number of patents, and other companies are likely to infringe upon them if they rashly follow up. Moreover, it is not easy to follow up. According to unofficial sources, the supply chain information related to the sixth generation includes: Japan's Proterial, which makes electromagnetic induction metal sheets; Advanced Technology & Materials Co., Ltd. (AT&M) Special Alloys Branch, Shenzhen YNTECH Co., Ltd, which makes electromagnetic shielding films. Industries with similar technologies include wireless charging, new energy vehicle motors, etc.
博迈立铖 纳米结晶软磁合金材料
In terms of cigarette production, foreign companies focus on thin sheets, while Chinese private companies focus on granules. In addition to granules, Chinese companies have also made innovative breakthroughs. Extrusion-molded cigarettes represented by Smoore and Cobat have attracted much attention in the industry. The process steps are roughly as follows: powdering the base material, pulping, extrusion molding, and drying.
思摩尔HNB烟支发烟段截面图
HNB smoking device section:
Center heating still occupies the mainstream, circumferential heating will achieve "squeezing out" value, and routes such as air heating and infrared heating are expected to break through. First of all, center heating has always been the mainstream technical route. It is a heating plate or heating needle that is inserted into the inside of the cigarette for heating. The characteristic is fast heating. The entire IQOS series is center heating, and British American Tobacco's latest Glo Hilo is also center heating. Previous Glo versions were mostly circumferential heating. The shift of Glo Hilo is considered by industry insiders to be an important signal.
Glo Hilo
A hot application of circumferential heating is to use it for secondary use, to "dry up" the centrally heated cigarette cartridges. More than one company is developing this type of smoking device, mainly for the Japanese market. From the supply chain information, there are currently two points worth paying attention to in circumferential heating: one is the PI heating film (the structure is PI film + heating sheet + PI film), and the relevant heating parts suppliers include Shangyang Group, Datang Dingsheng, Anpai Electronics, etc. Previously, this type of heating film was used in the new energy field; the second is thick film printing round tubes. The difficulty lies in the thick film printing of round tubes. There is currently a solution to this difficulty, which is provided by companies from the precision ceramics industry.
PI加热膜，上扬集团
厚膜印刷圆管，恒锦智能
Finally, most practitioners have high hopes for air heating and infrared heating technologies to break through patent barriers, but there are also many challenges. For example, infrared heating is usually made into circumferential heating. During the baking process, the taste of the paper tube is mixed in the smoke, which affects the experience. Therefore, some companies have replaced the paper tube with cork paper; infrared heating is also made into central heating on smoking utensils, quartz glass needles + infrared coating, the disadvantage is that the smoking utensils are prone to "strike" during cleaning. Another example is air heating, which is generally understood as an ultra-small hair dryer. The challenge is that under the trend of the sixth generation, most cigarettes use a plug design, that is, the bottom of the cigarette is sealed with high-transparency paper, and air heating utensils need to open some micro holes in a targeted manner. Despite the challenges, the road of innovation of Chinese companies is still moving forward. Compared with infrared heating, air heating technology is currently the fastest in commercialization.
source：https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/dBDWBcpNyQcJWONsGVIgdg
电子雾化与HNB产品都是新型电子产品，结构虽小，却融合应用多种材料、表面处理、芯片电子等技术工艺，而且雾化技术一直在不断更迭，供应链在逐步完善，为了促进供应链企业间有一个良好的对接交流，艾邦搭建产业微信群交流平台，欢迎加入；Vape e-cigarettes (VAPE) and Heat-Not-Burn e-cigarettes (HNB) are both emerging electronic products. Despite their compact size, they integrate various materials, surface treatment technologies, chip electronics, and other advanced technical processes. Moreover, atomization technology is constantly evolving and the supply chain is being progressively perfected. To facilitate good communication and networking among supply chain enterprises, Aibang has established an industry WeChat group communication platform and warmly welcomes interested enterprises to join.
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