Curing, gelling and matting by means of optical systems

At Ligna, which will take place from May 15-19 in Hannover, Germany, UV specialist IST METZ will present its comprehensive product portfolio of UV, LED and excimer technology for curing, gelling and matting coatings on wood and wood-based materials in Hall 17, Stand B77.

The BLK LAMPcure was developed for the highest industrial requirements and can also be supplied in the LED version LEDcure with 365, 3385 or 395nm wavelength for a wide range of applications. Angeling by means of UV or LED technology influences the haptics of the coating even after curing. Additional properties such as a soft-touch surface or an anti-fingerprint effect can be achieved in this way.

Excimer technology for matte surfaces

At a wavelength of 172nm, eximer lamps have an enormously high-energy emission that starts a polymerization process in the uppermost part of a layer of UV-curable curing. The penetration depth of the UV emission is comparatively low, so this process leaves a thin film on the wet coating without affecting deeper layers of coating. Since this Film formation is subject to shrinkage, the film near the surface exhibits microfolds, resulting in a matte surface.

Competence within the company group: Tailor-made LED solutions

Also represented at the booth in Hannover is the British sister company IST INTECH, which specializes in LED solutions for industrial applications. The air-cooled LEDcure VZ has been specially developed to meet the requirements of the large format printing industry and has an output of 16W/cm³. Thanks to the XT8 LED booster technology, the LEDcure VZ scores with up to 30% more power than conventional LED systems. The higher curing speeds allow the LED systems to cover a wide range of customer applications. All products from the METZ group of companies feature an identical control system.