How to Select the Right UV LED Curing System for Your Business

Mercury lamps are a well-established UV light technology, but they have significant drawbacks such as use of toxic materials, filament instability, high heat output leading to constant recalibration and downtimes. Owing to changing customer demands, adaptation of new materials and the benefits of UV LED curing vs traditional systems, UV LED curing systems have emerged as the go-to-choice for a wide range of applications including printing, adhesives, and coatings.  

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Flexible form factors, multi-wavelength capability, greater control, stability, shorter cure time, greater energy efficiency, and reduced running costs are just a few factors which make UV LED curing systems better. If you have been considering moving from mercury lamps due to time-cost-performance issues, this blog post can guide you in selecting the right UV LED curing system for your business. 

Determine Your UV LED Curing Requirements

UV curing is a photopolymerization process in which UV energy is used to change a liquid to a solid, by triggering photoinitiators in the liquid. UV LED lamps emit a narrower frequency range than traditional broad-spectrum mercury UV lamps. LED products are available in a range of wavelengths and customizable to specific application requirements making it easier to manage the narrow wavelength and match it with the photoinitiators’ trigger wavelength. 

To optimize a UV LED curing system for various applications, it is imperative to consider the following factors- 

Wavelength Selection

Choosing the right wavelength is vital for a high-quality cure in minimal time. For example, a 365nm light may be the optimum wavelength to cure based on the target materials absorption profile, 395nm may still produce a better curing result due to efficiency and “cost per watt” differences between the LEDs. 

Light Output Profile

Defining the output profile for your UV LED curing system is crucial. Narrower light outputs may be necessary in certain applications to avoid unwanted curing, such as curing of material on print heads. ProPhotonix offers a range of light output configurations including low angle (collimated), medium angle and wide angle with the COBRA Cure FX series. 

Working Distance

The working distance requirements of an application impact the LED lamp’s optical design. Although these UV LED curing systems typically work over a short working distance, certain applications may require a different optical system to provide a longer working distance and/or a wider depth of focus when curing objects of varying sizes. 

Intensity & Dose

UV curable media require both a minimum intensity and a minimum dose for an effective cure. If the intensity is too high, it can damage the ink or resin. A balance needs to be struck between the required intensity and dose level.  

If your application requires specific optical considerations, ProPhotonix can work with you to design application specific UV LED curing systems. 

Evaluate UV LED Curing Performance and Energy Efficiency

The emerging UV LED market is leveraging all the expertise and supply chains built up within the wider LED industry to ensure a high performing reliable solution. In order to optimize curing in your application, it is important to understand the factors to consider when evaluating performance. 

Uniformity

Uniform light is extremely important in UV LED curing systems as poor uniformity can result in uneven cure. Most UV LED lamps are capable of light uniformity, ProPhotonix LED lamps can help maximize it through custom LED substrate and optical design. Chip-On-Board LED technology allows a higher packing density resulting in higher intensity & greater uniformity for the curing system. 

Irradiance

Irradiance, which is the measure of exposure per second on the target surface, is denoted by light intensity and is commonly expressed in watts/cm2. On the other hand, the dose of light energy at the curing surface is measured as radiant exposure (intensity x time) and quantified as joules/cm2. Measuring both the irradiance and dose and achieving a balance between the two is crucial in ensuring that curing conditions are optimized, and consistent results are maintained. 

Additionally, the efficiency and effectiveness of UV LED curing systems depend significantly on their optical design, which ensures that the output generated by the system reaches the intended surface area of the target material and facilitates proper curing. Factors including direction of light, energy absorbed by in the UV curable film, and dose must be considered for an efficient optical design of UV LED curing systems. 

Consider UV LED Curing Cooling Capability

As mentioned above, high peak irradiance and energy density are critical to UV curing, which often requires many LEDs operating at high current and voltage levels. This produces a lot of heat in the LEDs which needs to be removed as efficiently and as quickly as possible for maximizing their lifetime, reliability and performance. To this end, good thermal management is crucial. 

For a low intensity, cost-sensitive application requiring a compact form factor, a convection cooled lamp would be most suitable. With a higher intensity requirement, provided that the space is available to allow some increase in form factor, a fan-cooled solution may be ideal. Where space is restricted, but high intensity is a must, then a water-cooled solution may be required. 

Assess UV LED Curing Compatibility and Cost

Compared with traditional lamp systems, LED systems offer significant benefits over the life of the lamp. Mercury lamps have short lifetimes and so require frequent replacement. LEDs allow instant-on/off, resulting in lower operating costs and have extended life which reduces maintenance costs.  

For bigger UV LED setups, replacing the entire lamp can be expensive and cause production delays. A solution to this is to use stackable or modular lamps. Stackable lamps can be put next to each other, creating a larger unit. Each lamp can be powered separately or connected to a shared power supply. Modular systems are similar but are designed to be part of a complete setup and can’t work independently. Both options save costs and are great for different lengths. 

Return on Investment (ROI)

The ROI is a measure of an investment’s efficiency and can be calculated by dividing the benefit of the investment by its total cost. ROI reflects the profitability of a project. When calculating ROI for an investment in UV LED Curing systems, it is important to consider reduced downtime, increased energy efficiency and flexibility. 

Conclusion

UV LED curing systems offer new capabilities that cannot be achieved with conventional curing technology. They offer reduced operating costs, highly efficient energy consumption, lower maintenance costs, longer lifetimes, low production downtime, increased operating efficiency and enhanced control capability. 

However, before proceeding with a UV LED curing system it is necessary to evaluate compatibility with specific application requirements for the best results. With more than two decades of experience in designing and manufacturing LED solutions for OEMs worldwide and over 15 years of experience in working with UV LED solutions, ProPhotonix’ team has the experience and expertise to work with you through a customer-driven project process, delivering a reliable, complete UV LED curing solution. 

Generally spoken: a 3D printer can be used to replicate any figure of any size with high accuracy. The fact it might take several hours to produce one single design (depending on the size), it consumes much less time and is much more cost efficient compared to e.g. prototyping carried out by engineers or product designers. This is due to the fact that 3d prints can be created from a vast selection of materials such as polymers, resins and diverse metals.

A 3D printer works with building up layer by layer of a desired compound (resin, polymer or metal). Until the layers merge into the desired 3d shape. Major preparations have to be done before the printing can be started as the printer relies on a computational generated 3D model.

There are mainly four printing methods: fused deposition modelling (FDM), stereolithography (SLA), carbon CLIP technology (CLIP stands for continuous liquid interface production), and selective laser sintering (SLS). Depending on the type of compound used, the type of drying or curing will be different. From the mentioned techniques, the SLA and CLIP are the ones where photosensitive resins are employed. Generally, lasers or UV-LED lamps are used. Lasers can be used for all materials, while UV-LED lamps are applied for resins, gels and special polymers.

To look into the UV process in more detail: One of the most important factors to have in mind when working with a 3D printer is the curing of the compound, since it is not possible to continue applying raw material if the work’s surface has not dried yet. By irradiating the composite with UV light, the composite hardens as it polymerizes, allowing more material to be applier in further layers.

Depending on the wavelength and the material properties, the UV exposure time determines directly the polymerization process or the curing of the resin. It is also important to consider which resin is the best fit to the printer. The most common polymeric resins used in the UV-curing are thermoplastic polymers, such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polylactic acid (PLA), polyamide (PA) and polycarbonate (PC), and thermosetting polymers such as epoxy resins, which requires thermal or UV-assisted curing to complete its polymerization process.

Metal materials usually cannot be cured by UV light sources due to their requirement of a more focused power source which fall upon one small area. Hence, laser technology is more frequent used when working with metals.

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Besides the already mentioned curing of the resin while printing, UV is further used in the post-processing of the formed shape. This procedure is carried out to improve the material performance and mechanical properties, minimize shrinkage, increase of resistance or resilience, among others.

But why should an LED be used as a light source in the 3D industry? As it was mentioned before, a LED lamp requires a lower energy source to operate and in the present days where in the industry the price of electricity represents a big share in the operational costs, it is a factor that must be considered. Further LED light sources are very compact and therefore easy to place especially in the smaller set-ups of desktop 3D printing machines.

References:
Wang, X., Jiang, M., Zhou, Z. Gou, J., & Hui, D. (). 3D printing of polymer matrix composites: A review and prospective. Composites Part B: Engineering, 110, 442-458; Stansbury, J. W., & Idacavage, M. J. (). 3D printing with polymers: Challenges among expanding options and opportunities. Dental Materials, 32(1), 54-64

dfernand

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Having just got my mars printer today, I've only just discovered that it is necessary to bathe the resin model in ultraviolet light as part of the curing process. I'm trying to figure out which UV lights are best for curing, I believe that they should be in the 405nm wavelength to be effective but I don't know what the number of watts should be.

I have a couple of light boxes  (lage and small)  and turn tables (large and small) already.

For smaller 28mm resin miniatures like say warhammer sized minis I think a ladies nail varnish uv box my be of use but a larger light for the light boxes (with maybe tin foil on the inside) will be required, again, I don't know the ideal, make, model or number of watts that would be ideal to cure or even the length of time to cure under UV light.

Anyone point me in the right direction ?

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NullARC

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3D Printer UV Resin Curing Light for SLA DLP 3D Printer Solidify Photosensitive Resin 405nm UV Resin Affect, DIY Curing Enclosue https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XJZK4R6/ref...KEbMBC2EXB

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zemerick

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20-40w is vaguely where you want to be, but it doesn't matter much: and it's a good thing too, because there is no consistency. This isn't that surprising, because most of the UV lamps are LED, so it's actually listing the "equivalent" rating, and there's a lot of variation going on.

The big thing is if you are not using a water washable resin: Submerge your parts in water during post-cure. This dramatically improves curing. It can take a print from 2 hours and failing to fully cure, to just 15 mins and being perfectly cured.

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Application Overview

PolyJet is one of the mainstream 3D printing technologies today. The PolyJet 3D printer sprays photosensitive resin material layer by layer onto the print tray until the parts are completed. Each layer of material is cured with ultraviolet light while being sprayed and can be taken out and used immediately without secondary curing. It can realize the combination of color and multi-materials in a single printing to produce a prototype close to the real product. It can also be used to print quick molds and verify product designs. Full-color multi-material 3D printer can mix six materials at the same time to achieve 500,000 colors, different textures, transparency, and softness. Products are widely used in medicine, education, engineering models.

Equipment Advantages

Using the Phoseon FireEdge™ FE400 air-cooled curing light source, end customers can run stably for a long time (the model printing cycle of the model is more than 48 hours). The printing process with highest efficiency, printing accuracy and yield can fulfill end customer’s stringent requirements. Compared with domestic and foreign LED light source manufacturers, the key advantages of Phoseon LED light source include:

1.     Small and compact structure: Very suitable for the limited space and complicated installation structure of the printer. And there are basically no wearing parts, eliminating the need for replacement and maintenance.

2.     Stable performance: With Phoseon’s TargetCure™ technology (https://phoseon.com/industrial-curing/technology/targetcure/) the continuous stable and reliable output of the light source ensures the quality consistency of the printed objects. UV-LED provides fast, consistent and reliable curing every time, minimizing waste.

3.     High-power air-cooled design: Air-cooled heat dissipation and exhaust prevent water pipes from occupying the internal space. High intensity UV irradiation can improve the surface drying performance of each layer of the resin, thereby ensures the printing accuracy of the model.

4.     Instant on/off: It can be used immediately without preheating and can seamlessly match the response time of the inkjet nozzle. It is especially suitable for scanning high-speed printing. Utilizing UV-LED technology, UV-sensitive properties enable rapid layering and curing using low energy UV light. The instant on/off function of LED lamps enables 3D printers to cure as quickly and constantly per the need of the printing process therefore optimizing production - something not easily achieved using traditional UV lamps. Phoseon Technology’s UV LED cures to print super-size lightweight objects at a remarkable speed.

5.     Customizable and user-ready: Phoseon Technology’s UV-LED curing speed delivers “ready” objects right off the printer; no post-curing or post processing is required. The final printed object is very receptive to multiple types of finishes. That allows the 3D object to be painted or decorated to create complex and eye-catching designs. The LED technology also allows to create multiple shapes and designs that meet end customer needs.

6.     Energy saving and environmental protection: Safe and stable UV-A products without mercury, ozone, or radiation. Phoseon Technology’s UV-LED lights are an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional UV arc lamps, which contain mercury. In addition, UV-LED lamps last longer and use less energy than traditional curing methods, which reduces operational costs and increases energy savings as much as ninety percent.

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