Monitoring of UV curing Free

Monitoring of UV curing

Keywords: Radiation, Curing, Quality assurance

A new quality assurance tool, specially designed to ensure the optimum performance of the growing number of ultraviolet radiation curing systems used in coating, printing and packaging applications, has been introduced by Sheen Instruments Ltd (Plate 3).

Claimed to be the first analytical unit of its kind, the Sheen “UVMS”is said to provide an automatic, self-contained and simple to use method of precisely monitoring the total dosage and peak irradiance of each lamp in a UV curing system. This reportedly enables the system to be fine-tuned for maximum cure efficiency to ensure accurate reproducibility of the curing process and consistent product quality. Added to this, by optimising the efficiency of a UV system, the UVMS is believed to make a significant contribution to saving energy.

 Plate 3

The UVMS operates by passing through the UV system along the same curing path as the actual product and measuring the maximum irradiance at every point along this path in real time. By pressing a single button, the collected data is instantly displayed on an LCD as a graph of irradiance versus position, allowing the operator to check the output and uniformity of UV illumination and make any necessary adjustments. By operating in this way, the unit avoids the need for time- consuming data transfer and computer analysis. It also provides a standard profile to current profile comparison display. This facilitates regular monitoring of current performance against the ideal baseline reference standard.

The UVMS is described as rugged and compact (160 mm × 112 mm ×12.7 mm thick) and weighs only 341 g. It has a dose range of 1 mJ/cm²to 20 J/cm² and an intensity range from 1 mW/cm² to 20 W/cm². Normal operating temperature range is 10 to 60°C. Out-of-band rejection is 10⁴ and accuracy better than 6 per cent. Power is supplied by two lithium fluoride batteries which are said to last up to 5 years. The UVMS provides NIST traceability, in line with ASI Z.540-1 and ISO 10012-1.

Details available from Sheen Instruments Ltd. Tel: +44 (0) 20 8541 4333; Fax:+44 (0) 20 8549 3374; E-mail: info@sheeninstruments.com;Web site: www.sheeninstruments.com