Openair® Plasma Technology Surface Treatment for Sustainable Production Processes
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Openair® Plasma Technology Surface treatment for sustainable production processes. 2 | 3 Plasmatreat, the company 4 | 5 Sustainability Plasma instead of chemicals 6 | 7 What is plasma? 16 | 17 Life Sciences 18 | 19 Renewable energies Applications 20 | 21 Sport and leisure 8 | 9 Automotive and aerospace industries 22 | 23 Transport 10 | 11 Electronics and communication 12 | 13 Consumer goods and packaging 24 | 25 Global responsibility 14 | 15 House and home 26 | 27 Plasmatreat worldwide 2 Contents Welcome to the world of Openair® plasma Only by looking to the future will you be able to shape it. The Plasmatreat company The development of plasma processes has extremely efficient use of energy and in many been at the core of our business since 1995. cases, shortening production processes. With headquarters in Germany, technology Whether used in-line, as with atmospheric centers in the USA, China and Japan and nu- Openair® technology, or in a low-pressure merous sales offices throughout the world, process, plasma represents a groundbreaking at Plasmatreat, we have an international approach to the use of materials. Cleaning, presence wherever there is a demand for our activation and coating expand the potential experience and expertise in the field of custo- fields of application, thereby facilitating mized surface treatments. closed-loop cycles. As a key technology, plasma surface treatment Close cooperation with leading research is used in virtually every sector of industry. institutes and industry partners is a hallmark of Plasma surface treatments make production Plasmatreat‘s innovative spirit. Tougher require- processes more sustainable and environmen- ments arising from new industry standards, tally friendly by preventing waste, making stringent demands for environmentally friendly and reliable processes and customized solu- tions for specific manufacturing processes are typical of the challenges that our customers present us with. Let’s work out together how Openair® plasma technology can change your production pro- cesses for the better! Dipl.-Ing. Christian Buske CEO Plasmatreat GmbH 3 4 Plasma instead of chemicals Revolution in surface treatment Plasma instead of chemicals Openair® plasma – sustainable and efficient Using Openair® plasma means protecting the Structural adhesive bonds in the automotive environment. Adhesion is really all about sur- industry, seals for electronics applications or face tension and surface polarity. Since non- quick, bubble-free wet labeling with high initial polar materials, and recycled materials, too, in strength for the packaging industry – Openair® many cases, are often difficult to wet, solvent- plasma combined with modern, solvent-free based adhesion promoters are used to activate adhesives can make all this possible without the surface. Consequently, adhesion promoters generating any chemical waste. are frequently responsible for over 80 % of the VOC-emitting substances used to achieve a re- The high surface tension generated by liable bond. Openair® plasma (the areas in the photo- graph (left) which are fully wetted) ensures Plasma-based surface pretreatments achieve even paint distribution and optimal adhesion. clean, highly activated surfaces which can be Surface contamination resulting from organic readily wetted with water, thereby dispensing impurities is safely removed. Plasma overwhel- with the need for VOCs and the associated mingly reduces the reject rate in countless in- drying and wastewater disposal. stallations, especially when coating electronic housings and displays. The gentle action of the plasma illustrates just what environmentally friendly adhesive pro- cesses can achieve: Natural attraction Drops of water drip off clean painted surfaces because there is no possibility of either adhesion or wetting. The lack of adhesion here, brought about by the low surface energy of the paint and the high surface tension of the drop, is very effectively counteracted by Openair® plasma. In pretreatment, it increases the surface energies of plastics, metals, ceramics and glass to such an extent that in downstream gluing, colouring or painting processes, even aqueous substances can now be used. 5 6 What is plasma? What is plasma? Plasma – matter in its highest state Learning from nature’s example – new solutions with the 4th state of matter Supplying energy changes the states of matter: Openair® plasma acts solids become liquids and liquids turn into gas. If yet more energy is fed into the gas, it ionises and • physically: due to the kinetic energy of the turns into a plasma. Due to its instability how- particles ever, this state, also referred to as the fourth state of matter, is scarcely usable at normal • chemically: due to reaction with the reactive pressures. By means of the jet technology de- gaseous components present in the beam ployed in the patented Openair® process Plas- matreat succeeded as early as the mid-1990s • electrostatically: due to complete discharge in using this hitherto scarcely exploited state of the surface and effective removal of dust of matter in industry for the first time in-line. When Openair® plasma makes contact with the • thermally: due to selective heat transfer at surfaces of materials, the energy in it is trans- low treatment speeds ferred to them. This produces surfaces having ideal properties for printing, gluing and even Depending on the desired effect, a partial effect foaming. Whether in the form of single jets for can be reinforced by modifying the geometry of high-precision treatment or rotary systems with the plasma source. 50 jets and more, the plasma source is flexible and always matched to the specific treatment performance required. Solid Liquid Gas Plasma States of matter: solid, liquid, gas and plasma 7 9 8 3 6 2 4 5 1 7 8 Automotive and aerospace industries Plasma and mobility Plasma by land and air Automotive and aerospace industries – using plasma in a sustainable way With over 100 applications, Openair® plasma is now serving most international automobile manufac- turers and suppliers to the industry. In the modern aviation industry, Plasmatreat is not only providing greater levels of safety, but is also simultaneously providing more environmental conservation and cost savings. 1 Car headlights. In car headlights Open- nology is used for inline selective coating to provide air® plasma ensures better adhesion in the extremely effective corrosion protection. bonding process and allows coating and uncoa- ting of metallised reflectors. Bicycles. In the production of bicycle frames, 6 additives remaining on composites are com- ® 2 EPDM profiles. The cleaning process prior pletely removed by Openair plasma. to the application of antifriction coatings or ® flock adhesives proceeds cleanly and smoothly with 7 Motor bikes. The use of Openair plasma Openair® plasma. allows primer-free painting and increases pro- ductivity. 3 Control devices. Metallic engine control housings, air flow meters or radar sensors can Trucks. In the structural bonding of refrige- 8 be very effectively cleaned with Openair® plasma. rator installations, Openair® plasma replaces both the use of environmentally polluting solvents ® 4 Tyres. Pretreatment with Openair plasma and mechanical scoring. results in distinct improvement of adhesion when bonding various layers of material. Aircraft. Openair® plasma effects the 9 ultrafine cleaning of new composite materials ® 5 Motor pump housing. PlasmaPlus tech- and ensures durable paint coatings and adhesively bonded joints. Selective nanocoating with PlasmaPlus® Selective coating of the most varied materials while simultaneously cleaning them to the depth of their pores is made possible by PlasmaPlus® technology. In aluminium alloys extremely high corrosion protection is achieved since bond line corrosion is avoided. PlasmaPlus® technology is used inter alia for coating motor pump housings in steering units in the automotive industry. In-line application ensures optimum protection against the penetration of moisture. 9 1 5 3 2 4 10 Electronics and communication Plasma and electronic Communication thanks to a good connection High demands for purity and freedom from electric charge Due to its zero-potential plasma beam, the key technology Openair® allows particularly mild solutions for even the most sensitive surfaces of materials. ® 1 Mobile phones. Openair is being success- 4 Discs. The plasma-polymerised barrier fully used in the production of mobile phones: layer applied to super audio CDs by the ultrafine cleaning prior to painting, use of solvent- PlasmaPlus® system prevents the penetration of free UV adhesives and dependable use of the IMD any moisture and hence prevents warping. method in the injection moulding process. ® 5 Microphones and loudspeakers. Openair ® 2 Flat screens. Microcleaning with Openair plasma allows the use of new membrane ma- plasma allows extremely good contact to be terials and in this way improves acoustic properties. made between the electronic module and the LCD screen. 6 Computers. Fully equipped printed circuit boards can be treated with Openair® plasma ® 3 Displays. Pretreating displays with Openair before painting without damage to the electronic reduces the wastage rate. Protective films, components. ITO layers and pole filters are not harmed by the mild, zero-potential treatment. 6 Plasma treatment of electronic components In the electronics industry, Openair ® plasma technology is one of the most innovative processes for treating com- ponents and circuits during production.