“On the Ball”: Rotary Plasma Ensures Adhesion in UV Digital Printing
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58 SURFACE TECHNOLOGY Pretreatment [VEHICLE ENGINEERING] [MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY] [PACKAGING] [ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONICS] [CONSTRUCTION] [CONSUMER GOODS] [LEISURE & SPORTS] [OPTICS] On the Ball Rotary Plasma Ensures Adhesion of UV Digital Print to Free-Form Objects A leading printer manufacturer benefited from using rotary plasma beams to develop a world first. The process involved pretreating three-dimensional objects with atmospheric pressure plasma in the printing unit before they were individually printed. The yellow plasma (right and left of the violet arc) emerges from the high- speed rotary noozle. It cleans and activates the plastic on the equator line which is subsequently printed (© Heidelberger Druckmaschinen) he casing is the most technically chal- which ensures the adhesion of the imprint Printers were already available for flat or Tlenging component of the ball and the and prevents the ink from rubbing off. cylindrical objects such as bottles and imprints on it should be durable. The cas- cans, but round objects could only be ing of modern footballs comprises several Individually Designed Mass Product printed using round screen or pad print- layers or shells; for example, a plastic lami- ing techniques or laminated with films – nate composed of a segmented outer In this digital age, the use of personalized tried and tested methods which are stan- shell of pentagons or hexagons, followed printing now makes it possible to trans- dard practice for high volumes, but un- by layers of foam rubber, latex and textile. form the hallowed ball, though mass-pro- suitable for small volumes and individual These layers are bonded or pressed to- duced, to an individual object of desire. items: Setup times were too high, pro- gether and then applied to the rubber Printer manufacturer Heidelberger Druck- duction and drying times too long, han- bladder. Before the punched segments of maschinen AG (“Heidelberg”) came up dling and logistics uneconomical and the the outer shell are stitched together, the with the idea of developing a print sys- production of films, templates and print- flat plastic is printed with graphic elements tem based on UV inkjet digital printing ing plates too expensive. In addition, sol- (usually screen-printed) or decorated with technology which makes it possible for vent-based primers are often used to pre- laminated foils. In most cases a final coat of the first time to decorate round and free- treat the objects to printed, which are not clear protective plastic is then sprayed on form objects individually in minutes. exactly environmentally friendly. © Carl Hanser Verlag, Munich Kunststoffe international 6-7/2017 © Carl Hanser Verlag, München. Vervielfältigungen, auch auszugsweise, sind ohne Lizenzierung durch den Verlag nicht gestattet. Pretreatment SURFACE TECHNOLOGY 59 Fig. 2. Four-color UV inkjet digital print- ing: The energy-sav- ing UV LED system ensures that inks in the Omnifire cure in a matter of seconds (© Heidelberger Druck- maschinen) seconds to form a solid layer, products no technical reasons to prevent the inte- can be used or reprocessed immediately. gration of a wet-chemical process into Fig. 1. 4D printing process: The Omnifire 250 Footballs in particular require a mechani- the print system, this should be reserved UV digital printer with integrated plasma cally robust, stress-resistant printed im- for such cases where other pretreatment system decorates three-dimensional objects age. The PU outer coating must therefore methods would fail to achieve sufficient up to 300 mm in diameter at the press of a be pretreated to ensure stable adhesion adhesion. button (© Heidelberger Druckmaschinen) of the UV inks, since no further protective The decision was finally made in favor film (such as a coat of clear varnish) is ap- of Plasmatreat’s atmospheric pressure plied to the UV print. plasma technology, which the machine Heidelberg’s 4D printing process (Fig. 1) A corona pretreatment is not suitable manufacturer already knew to be reliable, relies on a laser ultrasonic sensor to mea- for use with all substrates and was devel- having acquired a laboratory unit ten sure the object, which is held in position oped mainly for 2D applications, so this years previously which was still running. by a suction cup. A four-axis robotic con- method was ruled out. The integrated trol system uses the data obtained to po- use of a nano burner would be possible, Rotating Plasma Nozzles sition the object such that surface pre- but it would greatly increase safety efforts treatment, followed by drop-on-demand (e. g. explosion protection). Pretreatment If a banner is to be printed on the equator inkjet application, pinning (intermediate with low-pressure plasma was not con- line of the ball, the ball must turn on its curing of individual colors) and final UV sidered a viable option either, since it own axis throughout the entire pretreat- curing can be carried out fully automati- would not have been possible to fit a sys- ment process. To do this, it is essential cally at precisely defined points Fig.( 2). tem of this kind into the machine and the that the plasma beam impinging on the reduced external pressure would have plastic surface from above activates the It’s all a Matter of Pretreatment expanded the ball. Although there were flat areas and the downward-sloping » The most likely cause for the inability of plastics to be printed, bonded or coated Atmospheric Pressure Plasma effectively, or indeed at all, despite having The Openair plasma process, which is now used in virtually every branch of industry around clean surfaces, is that their surface energy the world, is a dry process that combines the dual effects of microfine cleaning and simulta- is too low. This is the most important neous activation. The plasma is generated inside the nozzle by an atmospheric high-voltage measure for determining probable wett- discharge and transported to the surface of the part being treated in a flow of air. When the ability. Homogenous wetting and an en- plasma hits a plastic surface, groups containing oxygen and nitrogen are incorporated into suing consistent color gradient as well as the mainly non-polar polymer matrix. Plasma activation brings about an increase in surface good adhesion are conditional on the energy, making the substrate polar. Energy-rich radicals, ions, atoms and molecular frag- material surface being ultraclean and the ments present in the plasma release their energy at the surface of the material that is being surface energy of the solid material being treated and thus initiate chemical reactions which bring about this effect. Some of the func- tional hydroxyl, carbonyl and carboxyl groups that arise (as well as the oxygen compounds of higher than the surface tension of the liq- nitrogen) form very strong chemical bonds with the coatings and so help to significantly en- uid coating, be it ink, adhesive or paint. hance adhesion. Unlike water-based and solvent-based During treatment, plastic surfaces are typically heated to below 30 °C. The plasma effect leads inks, which require time-consuming air to homogenous surface wettability – an important consideration for inkjet printing, where drying to evaporate the liquid, with the end result is largely determined by the way in which ink droplets strike the substrate and acrylic- based UV-curing ink cross-linkage spread. Atmospheric pressure plasma is environmentally friendly; since it needs nothing oth- and ensuing polymerization occur imme- er than compressed air and electrical energy, emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) diately after radiation with ultraviolet are avoided from the outset. light. Since the ink cures in a matter of Kunststoffe international 6-7/2017 www.kunststoffe-international.com © Carl Hanser Verlag, München. Vervielfältigungen, auch auszugsweise, sind ohne Lizenzierung durch den Verlag nicht gestattet. 60 SURFACE TECHNOLOGY Pretreatment Fig. 3. Personalized process was associated with a very high in two and a half degree of process reliability, which was of minutes: The utmost importance to Heidelberg. plasma- treated Balleristo range now Practical Test of Print Quality includes virtually all types of sports ball BVD Druck+Verlag AG, a specialist in offset as well as drinks and digital printing and advertising tech- bottles, shin pads nology, was the first company to discover and other non- the 4D printing process for their own pur- round objects poses (Fig. 3). The company initially used a (© balleristo.eu) black printer, but since January 2016 it has also been using a four-color Omnifire 250. The footballs printed in this system are al- most exclusively branded ones. They are supplied with a screen- printed imprint peripheral areas with the same degree of and the plasma input from a nozzle is which the ball manufacturer applies to the intensity. Stationary individual nozzles, therefore slightly weaker. top PU material and then protects with a which only have a relatively small outlet During a three-month test phase, Hei- clear PU film. This uppermost coating has angle, would not achieve the large-area delberg used a Plasmatreat rental unit to now to be printed with UV-curing inks, activation required. However, patented test the effectiveness of plasma pretreat- which must adhere securely of their own rotary nozzles (Title figure) provide uniform ment on different materials. The results accord after curing because they them- activation intensity because the rotation were unequivocal. Not only was there a selves will not be protected by a film. “La- paths on the edge of the treatment field significant increase in adhesive strength boratory tests are indispensable. But only overlap where the distance between the compared with untreated substrates, the the pitch will reveal whether the printed nozzle and the surface is slightly larger quality was altogether higher: The sharp- imagery on footballs can withstand the ness and color brilliance of the printed im- rigors of the game or whether it flakes off”, The Author age itself improved.