Patent ID: 8354616

Claim:
A system for stabilizing a sheet material, comprising: a pair of opposing side walls defining a channel that receives the sheet material; a plurality of heater apparatuses movably mounted in the side walls such that each of the heater apparatuses is selectively extendible or retractable through the side wall in which the heater apparatus is mounted in order to control a gap between the heater apparatus and an unconstrained portion of the sheet material in the channel, each of the heater apparatuses comprising a heater plate having a heating element and a radiation surface, the heater plate being configured to apply heat to the unconstrained portion, each of the heater apparatuses further comprising at least one vibration source having a first end coupled to the heater plate and a second end including a transducer, the at least one vibration source being configured to generate an acoustic wave and transmit the acoustic wave to the heater plate; and at least one mechanism for selectively extending or retracting at least one of the heater apparatuses through the side wall in which the at least one of the heater apparatuses is mounted.