UV curing: here "UV" is the English abbreviation of ultraviolet light, and curing refers to the process of changing a substance from a low molecular weight to a high molecular weight. UV curing[1] generally refers to the curing conditions or requirements of coatings (paints), inks, adhesives (glue) or other potting sealants that need to be cured by ultraviolet rays, which is different from heating curing and bonding agents (curing agents) curing, natural curing, etc.
The physical properties of UV curable materials are substantially affected by the drying system used to cure them. Achieving the desired performance, whether it is a preservative, ink, or adhesive, will depend on the parameters, design, and method of control of these lamps. The four key parameters of UV lamps are: 1. UV irradiance (or density) 2. Spectral distribution (wavelength) 3. Radiation amount (or UV energy) 4. Infrared radiation. Inks and adhesives will exhibit very different properties with respect to maximum irradiance or amount of radiation, and different UV spectra. The ability to identify the characteristics of different UV lamps and match them to the optical properties of curable materials expands the scope of UV curing as a fast and efficient production process. The main application areas of uv curing:
Wood coatings - wood primers and top coats and base coats: fillers (filling of internal and surface voids in wood panels); water-based furniture coatings.
Plastic Coatings - Film Coatings and Hard Coatings: Metallized plastic substrate coatings for automotive parts, appliances, compact discs, credit cards, window films, and automotive headlights and illuminated components.
Paper coating—surface gloss, metallized paper substrate coating for decorative paper, labels, cards and writing, etc.
Floor coatings - vinyl felt, vinyl silicon, parquet.
Metal coating - food cans, automotive and equipment decoration, traffic tunnel wall panels.
Silicone coatings (paper/film) - release liners, labels, castings.
Electronic coatings - conformal coatings, encapsulation compounds, photoresists, floppy (hard) disks, optical disks, video tapes, magnetic tapes, optical fibers.
Inks - Offset (cardboard boxes, flexible packaging, magazines, publications), screen printing (plastic labels, plastic bottles, foil, paper and cardboard packaging) and printing.
Adhesives - Laminating materials (paper or film/wood, film, paper, foil, etc.), general bonding (automotive components, optics), and pressure sensitive adhesives (labels, contact paper/film, etc.).
Cross-linking - heat shrinkable film, electrical insulation material.
