Drying

Many companies elect to install drying or curing machines directly after the coating system so that their product can either be re-processed immediately or else packed and despatched. Universal offer a wide range of different drying equipment – the selection of which depends on the type of coating to be dried, the production parameters and energy source available.

For the drying of waterbased primer paints, Universal commonly supply Gas Infra-Red Drying Systems. These machines can operate from either mains natural gas or L.P.G. Special Infra-Red Heaters inside these dryers are used, which emit infra-red light which excites the water molecules found in waterbased coatings, promoting their rapid evapouration which enables the drying time to be increased dramatically.

This smaller MINI-DRY works on the same principal as the MAXI-DRY but it is shorter and equipped with fewer infra-red emitters, for lower production speed requirements.

All Gas Drying Systems are manufactured in accordance with EN746 Part II regulations, which govern the safe use of combustible fuels in industry.

UV Curing Systems—SUPA-CURE series

UV curable lacquers contain photoinitiators, which when exposed to ultra violet light trigger a chemical reaction, whereby the wet liquid lacquer is converted almost instantaneously into a dry lacquer. The process is environmentally friendly, since unlike with conventional solventbased coatings, no volatiles are given off during the drying / curing process.

Universal were the first company in the world to offer in-line UV curing systems with its vacuum coating systems back in 1983. Vacuum coating and UV Curing technology complement one another perfectly, since high transfer efficiency is important when applying UV lacquers and the almost instant curing property of UV curing enables components to be coated and cured all around, without any damage to the coating layer.

Today’s SUPA-CURE series of UV Curing Systems incorporate the latest UV technology available. Machines are designed with different numbers, power and position of lamp units, depending on the geometry of the parts to be cured and the line speed that needs to be achieved.

Hot Air Convective Drying Systems

Some coatings are not suitable for rapid drying processes such as infra-red drying or UV curing. These coating may have to be dried by hot air over a longer period of time. Alternatively, a combination of infra-red and hot air or hot air and UV may be required. Whatever drying solution is required, Universal have a wide variety of different systems available including side transfer hot air drying ovens, inline combination infra-red/hot air drying systems, vertical multilayer drying systems.

SIDE TRANSFER HOT AIR DRYING SYSTEM