Powder Coated Tough - Fall/Winter 2007 - (Page 14) Emerging Technology Then the decoration part of the process begins. A preprinted transfer film with organic photosensitive pigments and cellulose resin is completely wrapped around the product with an airtight seal, Baker explains. The work piece is then positioned on the surface of a movable trolley. Air is removed through a vacuum suction system which brings the printed film into intimate contact with the coated surface, Baker reveals. The trolley is mechanically conveyed into an integrated curing oven where the printed image is effected, turning the ink pigments from solid into gas and back to solid inside the paint layer. After cooling, the film is removed. “The final result is a work piece that mimics the one-dimensional printed image on a threedimensional surface,” Baker explains. The Equipment Baker says that one of the primary advancements Decoral has made in the area of 3D dye sublimation has been the development of both semiautomated as well as fully automated process equipment. “Within the Decoral machine, all process variables are precisely controlled, yielding a consistent result time after time,” he says. Decoral’s equipment manufacturing Decoral manufactures all the powders and films used in the process. Powders include a line of specifically engineered TGIC free polyesters along with Super Durable formulations. 14 Powder Coated Tough http://www.steelman.com http://www.steelman.com
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