Fundamentals Of UV Coat And Cure Systems

By Amy Carter


Ultraviolet radiations have over the years recorded importance following its advancements in availing scratch free products and properties. To this effect, manufacturers and industries have embraced this technology for coating and curing of properties or products. UV coat and cure systems are vast and there is the need to understand what ultraviolet coating is and how to determine whether the coating is ultimately cured using ultraviolet lamps and cure systems. UV coating comes in variety of properties or materials where some are classified under soft, others hard and even slippery among many other arrays of materials. Consequently, professionalism and a high level of expertise are necessitated into ensuring that curing is ultimately achieved. Thus, industries need to capitalize on training their employees ultimately in order to achieve tremendous results. Paints, inks, and adhesive are used during the coating procedure. The below are methodologies to consider and employ in order to determine whether UV curing has positioned ultimately.

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 other test to run is abrasion test. Using your fingernail, endeavor to abrasion the surface of coating. Generally, a cured coating is resistant to scratches and where you abrasion the ink off the surface, then curing necessitates. However, there are scenarios where the ink scratches off if the coating materials or adhesive used is of poor quality or expired.

The last test is based on the use of methyl ethyl ketone. Get a cotton rag and dip it into the methyl ethyl ketone for absorption. The wet cotton cloth is then used for double rubbing the surface of the product. The procedure should be prolonged until breaking is experienced. A fully UV cured surface or product should never smudge the swab at all.

There are set requirements that ultraviolet coating and curing systems adhere to and these requirements are essential. First, one needs to understand the required weight and the type of coatings used. UV lamps must be positioned accurately in order to have a fully cured surface. Also, it is fundamentally essential to have skilled and trained professionals or operators facilitating the coating and curing process.

One of the major reasons why curing might fail is weight additions. In most cases, experts tend to overweight the coating. Therefore, examine whether coating is within the required weight and if not, reduce it ultimately. Additionally, the lamps should also be positioned accurately and maximally powered.

Finally, you need to countercheck the process. Coating needs to be of good quality and not expired whatsoever. Thus, ensure to acquire recently manufactured coats and not those that have exhausted their shelf life.

For ultraviolet curing to take place, one needs to have quality ultraviolet coatings. Skills and knowledge are inevitable during the process and there is a need to understand the vast array of systems and technologies. Always ensure to countercheck the curing process to avoid availing scratchy products.




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