Improving adhesion of inks, adhesives, coatings and many other applications is the key use of Plasma and Corona technology. Pretreating a material, often a polymer like polypropylene, will prepare and prime the surface so it has improved properties without the need for primers, chemicals or manual abrading. Plasma and corona pretreatment are environmentally friendly, repeatable systems that secure your bonding processes.
Adhesive bonding to low surface energy materials, or dissimilar materials can be difficult. Plasma and corona pretreat the material, improving the surface energy and priming the surface to adhere strongly and permanently. In some cases, the improvement is huge, giving a significant performance jump versus untreated. In other applications, the effect is more subtle, but the repeatability and consistency is perfect every time.
Establishing an even, well distributed coating without visual inclusions or reticulating coatings is difficult on tricky materials. Pre-treatment using plasma or corona will do two things: firstly, it will improve the wettability of the material, which is the ability of liquids to flow well over the surface. This allows for easier application, especially for coatings such as conformal coatings on to populated circuit boards that need to get in and around complex areas. Secondly, the improved surface energy will give the right chemistry to improve adhesion and longevity of the coating that is being applied. All non-contact and automated.
Printing inks can be a fantastic way to mark a product, with so many on the market, you want to make sure you pick the one that does the job. Deciding upon an ink because it has the correct wear resistance, UV resistance, price, colour depth or any other factor should be key – not the question of “will it stick?”. Pretreating your material will ensure that the ink you choose will adhere, so you can focus on important aspects!
Forming a strong, repeatable bond to encapsulate electronics or moisture/ gas sensitive areas can be very important. Treating a component before a potting compound is applied for example allows the compound to flow better due to improved wettability, removing air pockets and bubbles more effectively. Treating the part will also give a stronger bond, such as when using with a gasket sealant that must stay bonded and intact to fulfil IP ratings.
