AkzoNobel Partners With IPG Photonics for Laser Curing for Powder Coatings
A partnership has been forged between AkzoNobel and IPG Photonics focused on applying laser technology for curing powder coatings. The process involves calibrating the company’s Interpon powder coating formulations with laser curing solutions from IPG.
This will offer a faster and more energy efficient alternative to conventional curing methods. The two companies have signed an agreement for the partnership to exclusively serve customers in the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) region.
The process involves lasers selectively heating the applied powder coating in a “cold oven”. It means no heat escapes onto the factory floor and no energy is wasted heating the atmosphere or the curing enclosure.
High intensity laser heating also enables curing times to be reduced to a few minutes, compared with the 15 to 20 minutes required for traditional curing methods. The IPG Photonics process also enables curing to occur in less than half the space required by a traditional oven
“This is a hugely exciting partnership which has the potential to offer customers game-changing benefits in terms of process speed, efficiency and energy savings,” says Jorrit van Rijn, global marketing director of AkzoNobel’s Powder Coatings business, “It’s yet another example of how our commitment to painting the future is driving our innovation so we can help make the powder coatings industry even more sustainable.”
Senior Vice-President, Global Sales and Strategic Business Development at IPG Photonics Trevor Ness adds, “We’re delighted to partner with the EMEA powder coatings leader to accelerate market acceptance of our game-changing modular laser curing solutions. By aligning our laser innovations with AkzoNobel’s Interpon powder coatings capabilities, we anticipate a shorter time to market and added value for our customers. Together, our companies will realize a new level of efficiency and value for the powder coatings industry.”
Laser curing offers a number of benefits, including the ability to preferentially heat the actual coating, as opposed to the underlying substrate. It’s suitable for temperature-sensitive substrates and eliminates the long cool-down waiting times evident in typical production lines.
In a high-volume manufacturing environment, customers could realize reductions of more than 50% in both investment and operational costs, while drastically reducing their carbon footprint and energy consumption.
