The future of economical thin film solar cell manufacturing is dependent on new in-line process technology for high speed continuous production. One such revolutionary technology is atmospheric plasma surface pretreatment. Plasma Treatment offers unique economies for in-line production. Traditionally only vacuum plasma surface modification technology has been used in photovoltaic cell manufacturing. Vacuum plasma is […]

Surface Modification Techniques for Optimizing Adhesion to Automotive Plastics examines the benefits of using surface treatment technology on low polarity plastics commonly used in the automotive industry.

Energy curing technologies have evolved from infancy in the 1960s and have been in a maturing phase since the 1990s. Improvements in raw materials and a better understanding of the energy curing process made a substantial impact on ink-performance characteristics and have led to increasing acceptance of the technology among printers.

Knowledge is power. And to unleash the power of atmospheric plasma treatment it’s important to understand the sometimes subtle and sometimes substantial differences in air plasma, flame plasma and variable chemistry atmospheric plasma pretreatment technologies. Follow the links to learn how each of these different technologies generate plasma and surface treatment.

How can you determine if surface treatment provides the results you desire? Ideally you could integrate a plasma treating solution into your production line and see if the results meet your quality control standards. In most cases this is not practical, so laboratory treatment trials are your next best option.

Have you ever seen small insects walking on the water? Or small objects, such as needles or clips, floating on its surface? These amazing facts are due to surface tension.

The object of surface treating is to improve the wettability of the surface, thereby improving the ability to bond to solvents, adhesives, and coatings. In order for a surface to be properly wet by a liquid, the surface energy of the plastic must be higher than the surface tension of the liquid.

The concept of the contact angle is also depicted with a small liquid droplet on a flat horizontal solid surface.

Just as tape can be used to determine the adhesion level of inks and coatings, tape can also be used to determine the surface energy of a surface.

What does surface treatment really do to a surface? You can find out by taking advantage of specialized technologies for analyzing the effectiveness of surface treatment.