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Modern Alchemy: Plasma Transforms Plastic Parts
By Jeff Elliott F
or manufacturers and injection and blow molders that work with different kinds of plastics, plasma treatments offer com-
petitive advantages and transform specific parts into specialized, engineered compo- nents of much greater value. In plastics, the most common plas-
ma application is improving the bond- ing power of chemical adhesives. This may involve bonding metal to plastic, silicon to glass, polymers to other poly- mers, biological content to microtiter plates, and even bonding to polytetra- fluoroethylene (PTFE). When manufac- turing plastic parts for industries such as consumer products, automotive, mil- itary, and medical devices, plasma treatments are utilized to solve difficult challenges. Typically, this relates to raw plastic
material applications with incompatibil- ity issues that exist. “Plasma can trans- form the surface properties of plastic to achieve aims that normally would not be feasible,” says Ryan Blaik, sales manager at PVA TePla America. “This can include cleaning surfaces, resolving difficulties apply- ing printing inks to plastics, improving the adhesion of plastics to dissimilar materials, and applying protective coatings that repel or attract fluids.”
According to Blaik, plasma today is
being used to treat everything from syringes to bumpers on trucks and automobiles. Some of the essential areas of plasma
Printing on Plastics When printing on plastics is required,
binding the ink to the surface can sometimes be challenging; this occurs when the print beads up on the surface or does not suffi- ciently adhere to the surface. Greater print durability may be needed, includ- ing fade resistance even under high heat or repeated washings. For example, to resolve the beading
issue, plasma treatment can make the surface hydrophilic. The treatment facili- tates spreading out the ink on the sur- face, so it does not bead up. For many applications, plasma treatments are uti- lized to increase the surface energy of the material. When a substrate has high surface
Plasma treatment is common in the medical device industry to sterilize equipment and to promote adhesion of dissimilar surfaces.
treatment in the industry include printing on plastics, microfluidic devices, injection, blow molding, bonding plastic with dissimilar materials, treating plastic labware coating plastics to prevent leaching, and in R&D.
energy, it tends to attract. For this rea- son, adhesives and other liquids often spread more easily across the surface. This “wettability” promotes superior adhesion using chemical adhesives. On the other hand, substrates with low sur- face energy —such as silicone or PTFE — are difficult to adhere to other materials
without first altering the surface to increase the free energy. According to Blaik, depending on what is required, organic silicones can also be used to Continued on next page
September, 2021
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