Ultraviolet (UV) light curing is a process that uses UV light to quickly cure or harden a liquid material (such as inks or protective coatings) applied to a wide variety of products. This process is used in many different industries, such as printing, automotive, and medical device manufacturing. UV curing is a fast, efficient, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective way to cure materials.
UV curing works by exposing a material to a specific wavelength of High Intensity UV light. This light causes a chemical reaction in the material, which causes it to harden or cure. The UV light is typically generated by three types of UV system technologies: a microwave powered UV lamp , an arc lamp, or an LED UV lamp. The high intensity UV light is directed at the material, which is then exposed to the UV light for a specific period of time.
UV light can be used to cure a variety of coatings, inks, adhesives, and sealants onto many different surfaces including plastics, composites, and metals. UV light therapy is being used to treat a variety of skin conditions and germicidal lamps are used to sanitize and treat water, air, surfaces and even food.
Here’s a running list of everyday items that are cured with high intensity UV light…some you’ll know and others might surprise you. If you have a question about UV light or want to add to our list, email us at marketing@miltec.com.
Ultraviolet light can cure inks, coatings, and adhesives applied to many surfaces including:
- 3D components and panels
- Auto body panels
- Automobile headlights and reflectors
- Automobile Instrument panels and printed electronics
- Automobile Interior trim
- Automotive glass
- Automotive wire
- Baseball/Softball bats
- Billiard Balls
- Bottle Caps & Closures
- Bottles
- Brake pads and calipers
- Business forms
- Cabinets
- Cans (aerosol, beverage, food)
- Carpet backing
- Cavity compounds
- CDs and DVDs
- Cell Phones
- Credit cards
- Cups and tubes (paper, Styrofoam, plastic, metal, cermamic)
- Doors
- Drive shafts
- Engine components (starter solenoid, alternators)
- Fingernail polish
- Folding cartons
- Furniture
- Golf clubs
- Guitars
- Hardwood flooring
- Labels
- Lottery tickets
- Luxury vinyl tile flooring
- Maps
- Metal pipe and tube
- Wood Molding/profiles
- Newspapers
- Optical Fiber
- Outdoor plastic bag packaging
- Panel/sheet
- Pet food bag printing and coating
- Piano/keyboard parts & keys
- Playing Cards
- Point of purchase displays
- Printed Circuit Boards
- Resilient flooring
- Scrabble tiles
- Screen printing
- Skateboards
- Skis
- Sunglasses
- Surfboards
- Ukuleles
- Wheel rims
- Window film
- Windows & Trim
- Windshield Wipers
- Wood flooring
