Tag Archive: corona surface treatment

The Basics of Corona Treatment

For more than 30 years, 3DT has been a leader in providing high quality surface treatment solutions, including corona treatment equipment. Our innovative surface treating equipment can handle even the most challenging adhesion problems for a wide range of industries. With custom capabilities and a range of services, we can create systems based on your unique needs and application requirements.

What Is Corona Treatment?

Corona treatment is used to increase the surface energy of plastic and other materials for improved adhesion of inks, adhesives, and coatings. Corona treated materials feature higher printing and coating quality than materials that do not undergo this treatment.

Because polymers and many other substrates are non-porous, they don’t absorb ink, paint, and adhesive. Instead, media sits on the surface without bonding to it. By increasing the surface tension through microscopic chemical change of plastic materials, the ink or glue now has something to “hold on to”.

Corona surface treatment can be applied to a wide range of materials, including, but not limited to:

Polymers such as:

• Polypropylene
• Polyethylene
• Polystyrene
• Elastomers
• PET
• PVC
• Polycarbonate
• Vinyl
• Silicone Rubber

Other materials such as:

• Foam
• Foil
• Aluminum
• Metalized Surfaces
• Glass
• Composites
• Paper

To treat the material, it’s placed under a cloud of corona discharge, which is created by exposing atmospheric air to different voltage potentials. The electrons hold energy up to three times higher than what’s needed to break molecular bonds on the surface, and the free radicals quickly go to work oxidizing the material in the cloud. The result is increased surface tension, which allows for wetting and adhesion.

The Benefits of Corona Treatment and How 3DT Can Help

Besides improved adhesion for coatings, inks, and adhesives, corona treatment offers a wide range of benefits, including:

• Fast production. Even the most stubborn material can be corona treated in a matter of seconds facilitating the fastest, high volume production lines.
• Reduced waste. Materials have to be discarded if the adhesion process fails. Treating the surface ensures your paint, coating, or glue will stick the first time, so you won’t have any failed attempts that result in wasted time and materials.
• Eliminates migrating additives. Many materials contain additives to enhance a particular quality of that material. Over time, those additives may migrate to the surface, and if they’re left to sit on the surface, the ink will bond to the additives instead of the material itself. Corona treatment removes any additives that have risen to the surface.
• Reduce decaying surfaces. Bump treatment can be used to restore the surface tension in old, pretreated materials. This means you don’t have to worry about the surface decay of a material that’s been held in inventory for a long time. Simply apply the bump treatment, and you can return the surface to its pretreated adhesion potential.
• Facilitates Green manufacturing. With the increased use of environmentally-friendly, solvent-free paints, primers and adhesives the need for surface treatment is more important than ever. Water-based products resist adhesion to many substrates, especially polymers, but not once they are corona treated.

At 3DT, we improve adhesion and bonding on a wide variety of substrates, including polymers, rubber, composites, glass, foam, and more. Surface treatment systems for 3D objects are our forte, but we also manufacture systems for panels, sheets and film. Our comprehensive solutions go from design to manufacturing, installation, and service. Every sale is backed by our extensive experience and a dedicated sales and service team. Your success is our success, so we go above and beyond to create the best possible solution for your needs.

Corona Treatment Solutions from 3DT

Corona treatment is a highly beneficial process that is crucial for a wide range of substrates. Contact 3DT to learn more about our corona treatment equipment, or view our range of products to find the best solution for you. No matter where in the world you do business, you can find a distributor to connect you with the services you need.