What is UV curing?

Technology

UV curing (ultraviolet crosslinking) is the process of using ultraviolet light to initiate a photochemical reaction that creates a crosslinked network of polymers.UV curing can be used for printing, coating and assembly of various products and materials. Compared to other technologies, UV curing is considered a low-temperature, high-speed process and is also considered a solvent-free process because crosslinking occurs through direct polymerization rather than evaporation. 

UV curing is one of the most widely used light curing methods due to its high energy, thus instant curing at low cost and risk. Typical curing speeds of 1-30 seconds are typical for surface curing, with higher intensity light leading to faster curing. UV-curable resins can withstand overexposure from 100% to 500% without damage. Two simple ways to increase the light intensity are to reduce the gap between the light and the substrate and to add another UV lamp to the production line.

UV curing lamps 

LEDs are highly specialised lamps that emit ultraviolet light in a very narrow spectrum (usually 10 nanometres). LED lamps, although slightly more expensive, last up to 10 times longer than other UV lamps.

Depending on the size of the illuminated area, several types of lamps are distinguished:

UV spot curing lamps

NSP1 Portable UV LED spot lamp	NSC4 UV spot lamp

UV line curing lamps

UV area curing lamps