Canadian Finishing & Coatings Manufacturing September/October Issue - 28

PAINT AND COATINGS MANUFACTURING: UV CURED POWDER
2
Filtration & Separation Technologies 1 2
Folio Instruments Inc. 1
GFL Environmental East Corp 1 2
Gizmo Products Inc. 1
Howard Marten Fluid Technologies Inc. 1 2
Innovative Finishing Solutions Inc. 1 2
Lonza 1
Myers Engineering, Inc. 1
Netzsch Premier Technologies LLC 1
Quickblades, Inc. 1
Radia 1
RB Atlas 1 2
the heat is applied to the coating. Basically, it provides a better bond. Now, plasma isn't
necessary for every single material we're coating. It's definitely something that needs to
be tested before deciding whether or not its required, " explains Knoblauch. " And there
are two different types of plasma technology: vacuum and atmospheric. With the vacuum
plasma, you're basically putting a part into a chamber, in which all air is sucked out and
various different gases are emitted to create the plasma reaction. With atmospheric, the
part goes under a plasma ray, which bombards the surface. In our experience, vacuum is
typically better because you're able to fully treat the entire material or widget that you put
in the chamber. "
Union Process 1
UV Canada 1 2
UV Process Supply, Inc. 1
Woodman Agitator, Inc. 1
SensaDyne Instrument Division 1
Ship & Shore Environmental 1 2
Siemens Process Industries and Drives 1 2
Skyray XRF 1
The CMM Group, LLC 1 2
Static Eliminators
Bex Engineering Limited
Bystat International Inc.
Complete Spray Paint Equipment
Innovative Finishing Solutions Inc.
Tech Sales Co.
UV Process Supply, Inc.
Once the part is pre-treated, the
ision
UV powder is applied electrostatically
in a spray booth with automatic or
handheld corona powder application
guns. The coated part is then exposed
to a low temperature melt in an infrared
or convection oven, which takes one to
two minutes. " We get the powder up
to 115 degrees C and once it's at that
elevated state, we apply a high intensity
UV light to cure it. Photoinitiators
in the powder formulation respond
quickly to that UV light, and through
free radical polymerization it creates
a highly crosslinked, durable coating.
There is some heat involved, but it's
significantly less than traditional
thermal set powder coatings, "
says
Knoblauch.
One limitation of a UV curing system
is that it's a line-of-sight cure, which
means once the coated part is flowed, it
needs to be directly exposed to the UV
curing phase. " If you're dealing with
something that has a lot of contours or
nooks and crannies, that can pose some
difficulties, " says Knoblauch. " We have
overcome a lot of issues with that, but
there are still some materials that are
too finicky to process. "
But some of the benefits of this
technology can outweigh the
limitations. According to Keyland, UV
powder coating systems have a smaller
footprint and offers a considerable
reduction in energy requirements
compared to traditional systems, which
reduces operating costs and increases
productivity.
In terms of colour choices,
Knoblauch says they can paint the
rainbow with their UV powders. " Low
gloss, high gloss, stains, smooths, and
textures are all possible. The only
coating that would be more difficult
would be metallics. We do have some
that work, but the difficulty with them
is the metallic flakes will cause some
issue with the cure itself as it creates
some reflectivity, and the UV might
not be able to penetrate through it for a
thorough cure. "
With such a variety of new materials
coming into play-specifically for
automotive, which will be on the hunt
for alternative materials to lightweight
battery electric vehicles - additive
manufacturing is about to make an even
bigger entrance into manufacturing, and
UV curable products open new doors
and exciting market opportunities.
28
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Canadian Finishing & Coatings Manufacturing September/October Issue

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