Monday, July 30, 2018

Fundamentals Of UV Coat And Cure Systems

By Amy Carter


Over the years, industries have embraced the availability and use of infrared radiations for curing the UV coatings in products. The ultimate objective for using ultraviolet radiations is to produce scratch free properties and products that resist abrasion. There are multiple properties or arrays of the materials used in ultraviolet coating and they are classified under softness, hardness, slipperiness or even tackiness. All these materials or classifications require different approaches necessitating knowledge and a high level of expertise and exposure. Therefore, manufacturers must ultimately train their workmanship exposing them to the arrays of materials used for acquaintance and acknowledgment purposes. UV coat and cure systems are complex and they necessitate ardency where tremendous results are eyed. This article presents some fundamental things and ideas to employ or consider in order to determine whether a coating is cured and if not, some of the requirements that need enhancements.

To begin with, you should consider thumb rub test. This is the most fundamental test method where you use your thumb to rub the apparent of the process. Once you rub your thumb across the surface, you should experience some smudging. The blotch on your thumb needs wiping using a soft swab. Where smudging is still witnessed even after wiping, then the surface needs to cure further.

The second test to run is a scratch test. Scratching is more intense and should be facilitated using your fingernail. Basically, an ultimately cured coating should resist scratches all through. Therefore, coating should on no occasion scratch off whatsoever. There are two possibilities through which the ink or a coating should scrape off; one, the adhesives used was poor or coating is still not cured.

The final test is the methyl ethyl ketone test. While performing this test, you will need cotton-lint. Use the cotton lint to dip into the methyl ethyl ketone. The moisture cotton cloth should then be double rubbed on the surface of the property. Continue double rubbing until breaking is witnessed. Finally, examine whether there are ink or paint traces on the cloth.

The tests might be negative following the violation or omission of certain requirements like the lamps used and their positioning, the weight and even the coating materials. Generally, one needs to employ keenness when reviewing the set requirements. Failure to adhere to one requirement might ruin the whole curing procedure. Where one lacks skills and exposure, they might avail shoddy coating affecting the curing process as well.

One of the major reasons why a surface might not be fully cured is excessive coat weight. The process has a predefined weight that is overly standardized and there is need to meet the weight requirements. Therefore, weigh the coat again and where it is in excessive, ensure to reduce the unnecessary weight hence speeding the curing process. The positioning of the lamps matters a lot as well and they must be operational and powered copiously.

Finally, the coating used must be of good quality. Therefore, ensure to determine the expiry dates through counterchecking the shelf life defined by the manufacturer. Majority of coatings have six months before expiration.

Keenness must be portrayed through the process and the same keenness employed during the curing process. Lamps must be fully operational and well positioned to avail UV radiations. Therefore, ensure to follow and meet all the set requirements in order to exceptionally fasten the curing process.




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