Field Applied UV end user session to focus on latest gains

By Kerry Pianoforte • Associate Editor

Commercial UV curing continues to gain popularity in field use. This End User session, which will be held 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm, will focus on ways to maximize UV’s benefits in the field, while reducing potential application challenges.

The first talk will be “Global Marketing View of UV Curable Field Applied Floor Coatings,” presented by Stefan Smeets of Cytec Industries Inc. In recent years, commercial UV curing has moved out of the factory and into the field. The development of regional mobile UV curing unit producers and the improvements in mobile UV curing equipment have made the instantaneous cure of floor coatings possible. His talk will outline the benefits of using UV cured field applied coatings as compared to conventional coating technologies.

“Technical Challenges in Formulating Field-Applied UV-curable Coatings,” presented by Dr. Geoffrey Russell of PhotoKinetic Coatings and Adhesives, LLC, will cover the advantages of UV curing for field application. Some of these include speed of cure, reduced cost of maintenance and increased durability. He will also talk about some of the significant technical obstacles in formulating a UV-curable coating for field application that must be overcome in order to achieve the desired end result.

“Design & Safety Considerations for Portable UV Light Sources,” presented by David Snyder of American Ultraviolet, will focus on the new generation of UV light sources the recent growth of field-applied UV coatings has spawned. In the field, curing conditions are likely to be less predictable and conventional safeguards may be inadequate. This talk examines how current portable and handheld UV equipment is meeting these challenges and suggests future directions for the specification, design and safety features of UV lamps intended for field-applied coatings.

The final presentation will be “Coating Methods and Past Problems in Site Applied UV Curing,” presented by Daniel Dayon of HID UV. His presentation will provide a brief overview of the current recommendations of procedures for applying and curing site-applied UV curable materials from various manufacturers. This presentation covers some of the problems that have been encountered, such as hazing and ziplines, their underlying application method, optical and chemical causes, how they have been resolved and what can be done to prevent them.