Ultraviolet (UV)

ETAC helps businesses evaluate and test applications of ultraviolet curing technology that can benefit their manufacturing processes.

• About Ultraviolet (UV) Radiant Energy
• Industrial Uses of UV
• How UV Can Benefit Your Business
• Read about how the following organizations benefited from using ultraviolet curing technologies: Bird-In-Hand Woodworks and Partnership for the Advancement of Chemical Technology National Science Foundation.
• Send a question to an ETAC UV expert. ETAC experts will answer UV questions every Thursday, or sooner if necessary.

About Ultraviolet (UV) Radiant Energy

Ultraviolet radiant energy is applied to decorative and protective coatings to initiate a photochemical process that cures them into a hard, solid film. Ultraviolet curing applications are less toxic than their conventional solvent-based counterparts and have gained widespread use across many industries including wood and metal products, plastics, electronics and printing.

Industrial Uses of UV
Ultraviolet "light" is part of the electromagnetic spectrum between visible light and x-rays. Curing materials using UV improves wear, increases scratch resistance and improves the overall appearance of coated, printed or bonded products. Industrial uses include:

• Curing of inks and high-gloss varnishes.
• Curing of industrial coatings and finishes on wood, metal and plastic products.
• Curing of adhesives for bonding electronic components and splicing optical fibers.

How UV Technology Can Benefit Your Business
There are several ways that ultraviolet technology may benefit your process or product including:

• Increase output because of the nearly instantaneous curing time.
• Obtain greater energy efficiency because all the energy is used for curing.
• Achieve and maintain compliance with environmental regulations by reducing your volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions, because UV-curable materials contain little or no solvents.

To learn more about how ultraviolet technology can benefit your business, contact us.