More than drying: Infrared heat and UV technology improve coating quality and speed

Infrared heat dries, UV light cures – sounds simple. However, substrate, coating and production line often have very specific requirements for drying and curing. It’s good when UV systems or infrared ovens can be precisely adapted. It’s good when UV systems or infrared ovens can be precisely adapted.

It is worth putting the dryers used up to now to the test, as the example of a British manufacturer of goal posts shows. With modern, precisely controllable infrared systems, drying can now be three to four times faster.

Heraeus Noblelight presents infrared and UV technology for future-proof coating solutions at the PaintExpo
A combination of a conventional infrared oven with an infrared booster, helps Goalpost Ireland accelerate the curing of painted goalposts and accessories. The new oven also provides more precise control of powder coating curing and helps process a wider range of products than the previous oven.

Goalpost Ireland is a leading designer and manufacturer of sports field equipment for rugby, soccer, field hockey, basketball and tennis. Its products, such as complete goals with support posts, pitchside dugouts and flagpoles, are certified to national and international safety standards and are sold worldwide.

The posts, standpipes and accessories are made of aluminum, but for conventional reasons and to comply with sports federation regulations, they are powder coated with white paint. For several years, the paint has been cured in an infrared oven through which they pass continuously suspended from a conveyor belt. However, curing became slower and slower, mainly because powder buildup occurred over time due to powder carryover and inefficient curing.

In addition, the oven’s heating capacity was not controllable, so operators had to rely solely on the dwell time in the oven to accommodate different batches of product. The oven also limited the product groups that could be coated due to a low height. However, the company was convinced of the advantages of an infrared oven over a convection oven for this application and approached Heraeus Noblelight to look into installing a new system.

The infrared specialists at Heraeus Noblelight installed a modern infrared oven with a greater working height, so that assembled products can now be processed up to a height of two meters. To solve the problem of powder buildup on the plates, Heraeus Noblelight installed a 120 kW infrared booster in front of the furnace. The booster is divided into four zones and heats the powder so quickly that it is in a gel-like state when it enters the furnace. This minimizes powder carryover and prevents contamination of the furnace.

The new combination of infrared booster and oven has a simple and precise control system. It is now possible to precisely match the infrared heat to the part and coating passing through. Curing is thus three to four times faster than with the old system.