GEW
Nu-Coat produces a broad range of materials for the signage, display and graphics market.
There is one further, thoughtful measure in place to reduce Nu-Coat’s environmental impact, as Musto explains: “The heat that’s generated through the UV lamps, we have filtered through carbon filtration to destroy ozone, and then we generate the warm air that’s recirculated back into our warehouse, so we reuse that heat energy out of the process and again that reduces what we emit to atmosphere.”
Tim Self is in full agreement: “I think there’s a big emphasis on that, on every machine at the moment, that we have to design with the environmental issues in the forefront of our mind. Coating is a massive opportunity to have a big effect, because of course it’s using a lot of product on a continuous basis. UV Hot Melts enabled us to get away from the traditional methods of coating and our customers see the benefit.” Self also highlights the many features of the GEW NUVA2 curing system that were specifically designed in, to meet Nu-Coat’s individual requirements: “The design of the lamps and the cassette system is quite special. We have on this particular machine four lamphead bays, three of which are being used and occupied by lamps. The fourth is an opportunity to increase the performance for higher running speeds as and when they become a requirement of the customer. We also have a UV monitoring system for the lamp condition, which is a great benefit because ultimately the performance of the end product is determined by the amount of UV treatment that you apply to the adhesive.” He adds: “We also have the whole hood on a retracting system for cleaning, so the hood pivots up and the operator can remove each of
The operation of the GEW NUVA2 curing system is controlled from one simple touchscreen.
Nu-Coat’s UV curing process enables the supply of small order volumes on multiple substrates.
the NUVA2 cassettes by sliding them out of the machine… so you can do any maintenance and cleaning functions out of the cassette itself... it’s very fast and very easy to do a clean-up and get back in operation.”
The combination of having UV curing and offering more sustainable substrates also enables Nu-Coat to target a particular type of customer, as Musto explains: “If we look at some of the large department stores in the UK, they tend to want very green credentials… so we have a range of non-PVC products and the UV technology becomes attractive to them because of that factor... so they have an understanding of what our reason for being is, and that starts a dialogue. Most of our competitors can’t profess to be green - it is an interest-gainer, shall we say?... for want of a better description.”
The process extrudes solid adhesive onto the web, so there is no carrier to be removed.
Tim Self and Rob Musto worked closely to create the ideal UV Hot Melt solution for Nu-Coat
Regarding the technical aspects of UV Hot Melt adhesives versus the conventional type, Self comments: “Traditional Hot Melts are rubber- based adhesives and are not particularly good in performance in extreme conditions. There’s been a lot of development with the UV range of Hot Melts, which can not only match but also outperform in many cases the traditional products... you extrude 100% solid adhesive onto the product so there’s no carrier as there would be in a solvent and a water-based system… which you then have to remove from the process and that’s where a lot of energy goes. UV offers a very cost effective way of producing high performance laminates. “A further advantage of UV adhesives versus the conventional type is the ability to vary coat weight, and the durability and stability of the end product.”
www.convertermag.com
March 2023
41
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54
