Infrared oven for coatings
Coatings help to color products, to prevent from corrosion or make surfaces glossy. Infrared emitters are helping to dry and cure coatings while improving quality.
Infrared System for State-of-the-art Laboratory
Akzo Nobel, one of the world’s largest paints and coatings company has installed a purpose-built infra-red oven from Heraeus Noblelight in its RD &I laboratory at Felling, Tyne and Wear. The versatile, controllable oven forms part of a powder coating line which has been set up in the laboratory, to carry out research and development into coating finishing operations and to help customers optimise their own coating processes.
Infrared Emitters Improve Lacquered Surfaces
Many screens, internal claddings in cars and high value cosmetic packages are manufactured from plastics and contain a protective lacquer or finishing. The combination of infrared heat and UV lacquers is innovative. On one hand, the energy efficiency of the lacquer curing is improved and on the other hand the curing itself is significantly better through the pre-heating.
Energy-Efficiency in Lacquer Drying
UV powder lacquer is heated by infrared emitters to around 100-120ºC and then cured using UV radiation. As opposed to the curing of conventional powder lacquers, there is no need for any further heating. In this way, functional components can be coated exceptionally energy-efficiently and coating/curing plants have minimum space requirements. All infrared emitters, which are easy to control and regulate, like short wave, fast-response medium wave and carbon infrared emitters with response times in the order of seconds, are well suited for melting powder lacquer before UV curing.
Quality Improvement by Using Infrared with UV Lacquers
Some plastic surfaces have a scratch-resistant lacquer, providing a mirror surface. This prevents fingerprints from spoiling the high gloss finish or hand- or sun creams from attacking the plastic.
These varnishes are often UV varnishes, which use UV radiation to initiate the curing. This curing is carried out much better at higher temperatures or it can even be optimized by pre-heating.
