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The UV Curing Industry
UV curing is a technologically advanced photochemical process in which intense ultraviolet (UV) light is used to instantly cure or "dry" inks, coatings, adhesives and other materials in a wide range of industries. Since it was originally introduced in the 1960's UV curing has been widely adopted in many industries including automotive, telecommunications, electronics, graphic arts, converting and metal, glass and plastic decorating. UV curing is a multi-billion dollar worldwide industry, and now constitutes approximately 4% of the industrial coatings market. UV curing has grown more than 10% per annum, displacing conventional water and solvent-based processes due to its increased productivity, improvement of product quality and performance, and environmentally friendly characteristics.
A Quick Explanation
Using light instead of heat, the UV curing process is based on a photochemical reaction. Liquid monomers and oligomers are mixed with a small percent of photoinitiators, and then exposed to UV radiation. In a few seconds, the products -- inks, coatings or adhesives instantly harden.
UV curable inks and coatings were first used as a better alternative to solvent-based products. Conventional heat and air-drying works by solvent evaporation. This process shrinks the initial application of coatings by more than 50% and creates environmental pollutants. In UV curing, there is no solvent to evaporate, no environmental pollutants, no loss of coating thickness, and no loss of volume. This results in higher productivity in less time, with a reduction in waste, energy use, and pollutant emissions.
In recent years we've learned how to apply UV curing to three dimensional parts. Click Here to learn more.
Look What UV Curing Can Do For You:
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