First Industrial UV Forum a complete success

More than 100 visitors presented with information on industrial plastic coatings

Nürtingen, 5th December 2012: The first Industrial UV Forum from IST METZ GmbH took place on 28th and 29th November at the company headquarters in Nürtingen. Industry partners from system manufacturing and the chemicals industry, as well as renowned users and IST experts, addressed the main theme of plastic coating using UV technology. A tour of the company premises included a coating demonstration of a 3D object in IST METZ’s own laboratory.

Dirk Jägers, Managing Director of IST METZ, welcomed the German- and English-speaking guests on both days, and provided a brief overview of the work carried out by UV specialists. Oliver Starzmann, Product Manager for Industrial Applications at IST METZ, then explained the main fields of application for UV in plastic coating and highlighted the advantages to UV curing, such as low surface temperature, immediate processing and the impressive properties of the layers created.

Klaus Menzel from BASF SE presented visitors with the eco-efficiency analysis, a method developed by BASF and since certified by the international certification organization TÜV that considers the economic efficiency of a product in relation to the impact on the environment. Customers can thus decide for themselves which products are best suited, both economically and ecologically, to their specific requirements. Using the coating of wooden doors as an example, he demonstrated that UV varnish, when compared to other types of varnish, offers the best eco-efficient fingerprint. This type of analysis must be carried out separately for every application, however.

Dr. Matthias Schumacher from Hella KGaA Hueck & Co. used car headlamps to demonstrate an application involving UV varnish. The varnish evens out any weaknesses of the plastic, making it more resistant to the weather, to chemicals such as cleaning agents and, in particular, to wear and scratches.

Later in the day, Achim Herzog from Integration Technology Ltd., a strategic partner of IST METZ in the area of LED UV technology, presented the advantages to LED UV technology and the variety of application areas such as display manufacture, printed electronics, and wafer production.

Andreas Scholz from Lankwitzer Lackfabrik GmbH used car parts to demonstrate the many coating possibilities offered by UV varnishes, applied to both the interior and exterior of the vehicle: from plain-coloured or metallic tones to silk lustre, silk matt or even piano finish.

Michael Blankenhorn from Sprimag Spritzmaschinenbau GmbH & Co. KG further explored the theme of system technology. He described the system concept of a pallet plant, where the individual process steps incorporate everything from pre-treatment to UV curing. Here he emphasised the low investment costs and the compact size of the plant.

Dr. Barbara Gebhardt from VTD Vakuumtechnik Dresden GmbH demonstrated the PVD process, which involves depositing various metals on plastic parts under a high vacuum. The process is used on plastic parts designed to have a superior metallic appearance, i.e. in the cosmetic or automotive industry. Subsequently, Marcus Steckhan from Mankiewicz Gebr. GmbH & Co. KG talked, amongst other things, about the properties required from a varnish during the PVD process. Furthermore, he presented the special advantages of Monocure varnishes that make UV curing within seconds possible without any further thermal drying. The coated parts are resistant to scratching and chemicals and offer mechanical strength.

After that, the tour of the IST METZ GmbH company grounds provided the 100 plus visitors on both days with an insight into the manufacture of UV units and the production of individual components such as UV lamps, electronic power supply devices and reflectors.

Presented in the new laboratory rooms of IST METZ was the raytracing software that allows for optimum coordination of the UV light path with the part to be coated. This was followed by a demonstration of a toy cured with the MBS-3D. The main feature of this innovative UV system is that complex 3D parts can be cured with just one UV lamp.

“We are delighted to see that our first Industrial UV Forum has been so well received by the visitors,” says Dirk Jägers. “We will definitely organise such an event again next year. The focus then could be bonding or metal coating.”