IDT | INSTANT DRYING TECHNOLOGIES

Challenges of paint drying

A coating of components usually goes hand in hand with an appropriate drying technology. When lacquers are dried or powder lacquers cross-linked, this usually has to be done thermally and the temperature distribution is decisive for the quality of the achievable surface. If this drying is carried out conventionally using hot air systems, the entire component must be heated to the temperature of the baking temperature. This is due to the fact that it is not possible to heat only the thin layer of paint without the energy flowing into the component.

NIR technology

This is where the use of NIR technology comes in. The particularly short-wave and high-energy radiation enables rapid heating over the entire volume of the coating. Due to the high energy density, the coating reaches the hardening temperature before the underlying component even notices anything of it. This results in so-called energy separation. On the one hand, significantly less energy is required (component does not need to be heated) and, on the other hand, the drying process is completed after only a few seconds. With conventional processes, this process takes several minutes to hours. A further advantage is the possibility of coating temperature-sensitive components such as ignition device filled airbag containers.