Heraeus Noblelight America and CQTI announce joint initiative

ChemQuest Technology Institute (CQTI) has partnered with Heraeus Noblelight America to schedule trials on its newly installed microwave-powered and UV LED wide-format curing systems.

The curing systems are deployed on the company’s automated flat line in South Boston, Virginia, US.

CQTI’s client-base of raw material suppliers, formulators, and OEM end users are now able to test new chemistries and curing processes using equipment and a line scaled to the production of durable goods.

Kevin Joesel, director of sales, UVP, Heraeus Noblelight America, LLC noted: “No other independent facility provides microwave-powered and 30-inch wide UV LED flat-line curing systems. Comparing different UV curing methods – UV LED, microwave-powered, or arc lamps – is now easily achievable on one line.

“Heraeus Noblelight America, LLC sought to partner with ChemQuest not only to advance UV coating processes but to make hard data collection easier for proving the performance/cost advantages of converting to UV curing.”

According to CQTI, coatings can be applied to any flat substrate (e.g. wood, glass, metal, composite, or plastic) measuring up to 50 inches wide, 12 feet long, and four inches thick. After an automated spray-application of a coating, the substrate can be exposed to several curing methods for R&D testing, including infrared curing (IR); convection curing; and three types of UV curing: traditional mercury arc UV, Heraeus Semray UV LED, and Heraeus Light Hammer 10 Mark II microwave-powered UV.

Comparing curing variations of different UV spectra is as easy as switching out the bulb in Heraeus’ Light Hammer 10 system; for example, to determine which UV spectra works best with any of the wide array of new and improved photoinitiator chemistries. Adjustments to the UV wavelength emitted by the LED modules are also easily rendered in the Semray UV LED units.

CQTI offers the coatings value chain services for formulation, process engineering, physical testing, and forensics analysis, employing various forms of UV curing technology.

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