Cooperation for laser curing for powder coatings
AkzoNobel and IPG Photonics have just partnered up to improve an new curing technology for powder coating via lasers.
The novel process involves calibrating the company’s “Interpon” powder coating formulations for optimal results with laser curing solutions from IPG. This will offer a faster and more energy efficient alternative to conventional curing methods. The two companies have signed an agreement for the partnership to exclusively serve customers in the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) region.#
Laser cures powder coating selectivly
The process involves lasers selectively heating the applied powder coating in a “cold oven”. It means no heat escapes onto the factory floor and no energy is wasted heating the atmosphere or the curing enclosure. High intensity laser heating also enables curing times to be reduced to just a few minutes, compared with the 15 to 20 minutes that’s currently required using traditional curing methods. The IPG Photonics process also enables curing to occur in less than half the space required by a traditional oven.
“This is a hugely exciting partnership which has the potential to offer customers game-changing benefits in terms of process speed, efficiency and energy savings,” says Jorrit van Rijn, Global Marketing Director of AkzoNobel’s Powder Coatings business. Laser curing offers a number of benefits, including the ability to preferentially heat the actual coating, as opposed to the underlying substrate. It’s suitable for temperature-sensitive substrates and eliminates long cool-down waiting times evident in typical production lines. In a high-volume manufacturing environment, customers could realize reductions of more than 50% in both investment and operational costs, while drastically reducing their carbon footprint and energy consumption.