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INDUSTRIAL FINISHING: UV-CURED WOOD FINISHES

SOLVE AND EVOLVE

A COLLABORATIVE APPROACH TO SOLVING CUSTOMER ISSUES
EQUALS SUCCESS AS UV-CURED WOOD FINISHES EVOLVE

roponents of UV-curable wood coatings note they offer
advantages over conventional wood finishing systems and are
Pincreasingly being adopted for a wide range of applications.
This type of finishing system offers high curing speed and
therefore increased production, lower energy costs, a smaller factory
footprint, and greater ease of use (such as a consistent viscosity and
no need to clean the application machinery after use).
But, as good as it already may sound, technologies continue to
evolve.
Heraeus recently launched a testing center in South Boston, VA,
called the ChemQuest Technology Institute (CQTI) which has
a production-capable, flat line conveyor suitable for wood and
specifically for testing UV-curable coatings for end users and
coatings formulators.
The company says the CQTI is the only site in North America for Flat line with 50-inch wide Heraeus
conducting UV curing trials, or even production, on large compo- microwave-powered UV curing system.
nents using Heraeus UV curing technology.
“Heraeus Noblelight America, LLC sought to partner with Chem-
Quest not only to advance UV coating processes but to make hard system, for example, to determine which UV spectra works best with
data collection easier for proving the performance/cost advantages any of the wide array of photoinitiator chemistries. Adjustments to
of converting to UV curing,” says Bertram Raabe, Sales Manager, NA the UV wavelength emitted by the LED modules are also easily
East, Heraeus Noblelight America. rendered in the Semray UV LED units.
No other facility offers such a wide array of state-of-the-art Allied Photochemical also likes to engage key customers to solve
coatings application and curing capabilities on two production- a coating or process issue, says Joseph Grefke, Sales Operations
ready coatings lines – one for flat parts and another for 3D parts, Specialist.
the company says. UV-cured wood finishes are evolving, Grefke says, where formu-
Heraeus touts the expertise of experienced UV coatings formula- lators in Allied’s supplier community continue to innovate and
tors and applications engineers who help clients develop and deliver new raw materials.
optimize new UV curable formulations and manufacturing “These new raw materials and technologies give Allied increased
processes. End users of UV curing and UV raw material suppliers flexibility to formulate superior coatings for our customers that
and formulators can reduce R&D development time and prove the offer lower viscosity, increased hardness, nano properties, and are
feasibility of UV curing processes faster, Heraeus says. environmentally friendly,” says Grefke.
“This testing facility is ideal for both testing of flat-line wood In turn, the UV process itself allows the customer to develop
coating or three-dimensional hanging parts,” says Raabe. “The auto- innovative manufacturing systems – with faster production speeds,
mated Superfici flat line was designed with wood products such as smaller equipment footprints, and cleaner formulations with no
cabinetry, furniture and flooring in mind. No other independent VOCs or HAPs, he adds.
facility provides microwave-powered and 30-inch wide UV LED Grefke likes to remind customers that UV is a process, not just a
flat-line curing systems. Comparing different UV curing methods – coating. This lack of understanding is what often results in
UV LED, microwave-powered, or arc lamps – is now easily achiev- customers’ biggest headaches when dealing with UV-cured wood
able on one line.” coatings, he says.
According to CQTI, coatings can be applied to any flat substrate “It takes the customer’s knowledge, the UV equipment integrator
(wood, glass, metal, composite, or plastic) measuring up to 50 inches and Allied to work together, to solve the customer’s problem,” he says.
wide, 12 feet long, and four inches thick. After an automated spray- “We have perfected this approach.”
application of a coating, the substrate can be exposed to several Allied understands this clearly, Grefke says adding, “We are 100
curing methods for R&D testing, including infrared curing (IR); percent a UV coatings formulation and delivery company. We have
convection curing; and three types of UV curing: traditional mercury no hidden agendas; just delivering a great UV coating solution to
arc UV, Heraeus Semray UV LED, and Heraeus Light Hammer 10 our customer.
Mark II microwave-powered UV. “It is not always about the cost per gallon of the coating. While this
Comparing curing variations of different UV spectra can be done is important, the coating must exceed the customer’s needs and
easily by switching out the bulb in Heraeus’ Light Hammer 10 expectations.” n
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