Plasma activation is one of the most important processes that is now being adopted in both big and small industries. It helps to clean surfaces, prepare for the application of adhesives, printing and coating. It is also used on a wide range of materials from polymers to papers amongst other materials.
Applications
The process has been applied in both small scale and large scale industrial processes. It is used in packaging of small goods as well as in automotive and in the aircraft industries. The ability to use it for a wide range of applications is one of the reasons it is popular.
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One of the main applications of the plasma process is in surface preparation. Surface preparation is necessary particularly in the applications of ink and adhesives. The ionized particles are applied to a surface to ensure that the surface can hold the adhesive or ink for the sake of adhesion and printing.
Material Properties and Adhesion
The aim of applying this method is to ensure that you have the right surface tension to surface energy ratio. A material with poor surface tension will cause the liquid to have a bigger contact angle. It is this angle that makes the material gain the right tension for adhesion and other applications.
Each material has a distinctly different optimal tension. Polymers, paper, nylon etc, will each bond differently with a given fluid. Also, there are different fluids like water, glycerol and alcohol that will bond differently with a given material.
It is important to know exactly the level of surface tension needed for certain materials and fluids. It is possible for even small industries to establish this without the need of complicated machines and systems. There are ink kits that can help you determine the optimal surface tension for any material that you may be using.
Plastics and their Properties
Plastics often have low surface tension compared to other materials used in the industries. However, the surface of the plastic can change in its chemical composition during the pretreatment procedure and other processes there after. Caution must be applied to ensure that the surface treatment procedure is done right when using this material.
There are various technologies that are often used for the laser treatment of various materials. Generally these are, atmospheric, flame and atmospheric chemical plasma. Blow ion system is a common system that is part of the methods of air plasma method of treating materials. It can be used for both conductive and non conductive materials.
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Flame method is suitable for many adhesion applications as it leaves behind chemicals that make adhesion easier. This is ideal for surfaces that are problematic and harder to treat through other plasma activation techniques. Temperatures need to be raised for to make the gas flammable for the sake of oxidation.
No single technique can be applied to all materials or processes. Choosing the right process will need serious considerations to be made. These considerations include chemical industrial and economic ones, to ensure the system can meet all the objectives set.
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