Project: Sustainable, safe and easy-to-use mobile system for UV LED curing of floor lacquer
In this Eurostar project the objective is to develop an environmental, work-friendly and sustainable UV curable lacquer system together with a mobile UV LED (Light Emitting Diode) unit. This will result in a system with unique customer and environmental benefits, such as excellent working condition with no harmful radiation nor ozone formation, together with a curing technology which do not transfer any heat to the substrate._x000D__x000D_The project consortium consists of Swedish Arboritec AB and Belgic Sadechaf UV, who already have a long business relationship, and now see an opportunity to develop a new unique product together. _x000D__x000D_Arboritec is a Swedish SME and one of the leading companies world-wide in the field of on-site application of wooden flooring and parquet. Arboritec offers a unique lacquer with aqueous silica sol (nanoparticles), providing a highly durable surface. However, the drying and curing process takes about two weeks, today. Even though this is sufficient for our current customers, COly homeowners and apartment owners, this downtime cost does not satisfy the demands from commercial floor customers, our potential future customers. _x000D__x000D_Sadechaf is a Belgian SME that develop, market and sell UV units for curing of inks, coatings and lacquers._x000D__x000D_The consortium have the possibility to offer a complete system, consisting of the unique lacquer from Arboritec and the new mobile UV LED curing unit from Sadechaf, targeting the market need for on-site applications without risking downtime costs, for restaurants, sport floors, hospitals and other commercial and industrial environments, etc._x000D__x000D_In an ongoing national R&D-project, together with Chalmers Industriteknik and University of Göteborg, Arboritec has started to develop a UV A curing lacquer based on renewable oil, that is able to use available UV curing units, such as the one Sadechaf in Belgium provides. This unit emits UV radiation within the so called A, B and C bands. The short wavelength bands; B and C (200-320 nm), are hazardous for people, why a shield or filter need to be incorporated in the mobile equipment to protect both the users and also all other people in the proximity of the working area. They all would need to use goggles to protect their eyes from the UV-light. In a stationary curing unit, this problem doesn't exist, as it is easy to build all necessary protection, ventilation and cooling around the light source. _x000D__x000D_Since the research results, for the on-going R&D project showed good curing ability for the UV A-band; none, or very small oxygen inhibition as the same time as a good deep cure was received, we now want to proceed to investigate cure response using low effect LED lamps for the wavelengths 365 nm, 400 nm (limit for visible light) and 448 nm, respectively. . We can already state, that with a special designed photo initiator system, we receive curing for 365 and 400 nm, but very poor or no curing for 448 nm. This is according to expectation using the available photo initiators absorption ability. The most interesting result in the R&D study was that in spite of low effect of the LED light source, a good curing was received. This has to do with the fact that all energy from the LED is concentrated to a single peak with a width of only one nm, compared to ordinary UV lamp where “the energy” is spread over a broad spectrum (UV, visible and infrared)._x000D__x000D_Given this background, the consortium sees the opportunity to meet the market demand of on-site application and restoration of lacquer that is safe and easy to use. The consortium has identified several market possibilities for this new technology, both by making it safe and work-friendly and also to broaden the use to other floor materials, such as PVC and Linoleum (not only wood). We see a market potential of € 27.4 M in year 2020. To be able to perform this market introduction, we see it necessary to recruit 15 people in Arboritec and three in Sadechaf, COly in sales to cover key markets, and also in production of the new system. _x000D__x000D_To be able to put forward the development a new mobile UV LED curing system, we need to perform various experiments to receive the best standard for the system, i. e., lacquer and mobile unit, as well as to investigate how these two components work together. With the support of the Eurostars program, market implementation will be possible within three years from the project start._x000D__x000D_
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Acronym
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UVLEDlac
(Reference Number: 7352)
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Duration
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04/06/2012 - 29/05/2015
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Project Topic
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The consortium will develop and sell a sustainable, safe and easy-to-use mobile system for UV LED curing of lacquer, for quick on-site application and aftercare of wood and plastic floors. There is no equivalent product yet on the market and we see a market potential of € 27,4 M in 2020.
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Network
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Eurostars
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Call
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Eurostars Cut-Off 8
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Project partner
