The Corotec Plasma-Jet™ 3-D Treating System Facilitates Bonding Of Inks And Adhesives To Automotive Components Subjected To Harsh Environments

The Plasma-Jet™ corona treating system from Corotec Corporation uses an electrical discharge (corona) to selectively increase the surface wettability of plastic and metal automotive components prior to the application of labels, nomenclature or graphics. It can treat multiple surfaces and difficult geometries, consistently and conveniently, with superior one-pass coverage.

“The Plasma-Jet™ is being used successfully in the automotive market in a variety of applications”, said Bruce Stobbe, President of Corotec Corporation. “Recent applications include both interior and under-the-hood parts such as instrument panel dials, seat adjustment parts, and engine fluid closures.”

The Corotec Plasma-Jet™ provides improved bonding of inks, adhesives and coatings with greater application flexibility, surface coverage and speed, especially for parts subjected to harsh environmental conditions such as extended UV exposure and corrosive elements such as gasoline, road salt, transmission fluid, and oil.

The Plasma-Jet™ system is easily configured regardless of whether direct printing, hot stamping, pad printing, adhesive coating, adhesive bonding, painting or laminating techniques are utilized. This type of treatment is crucial for manufacturers who use water-based or UV-curable inks, which demand higher surface energy levels than their solvent-based predecessors.

The Plasma-Jet™ corona treatment system offers superior bonding without the hazards of older methods such as open flame-treatment, chemical surface preparation or sanding techniques. It does not involve the use of hazardous gases, open flames, combustion by-products or the heat generation associated with flame treatments. Because it generates very little heat, sensitive materials such as light films can be treated without distortion.

The Plasma-Jet™ can be easily configured to the production environment since it can accommodate various line speeds, treatment widths, and material types. It can be used as a portable unit or it can be permanently affixed in a central location. The discharge heads 1 to 4 depending on model can be located up to 10 feet or more away from the power unit and are connected with just one cord to streamline setup. Three-dimensional parts can be easily covered by positioning the heads where necessary.

A new option recently made available on the Plasma-Jet™ system is the ceramic discharge head. Ceramic discharge heads are advantageous because they eliminate arc tracking due to high voltage and contamination and they do not degrade due to heat and ozone. The end result is less maintenance and less down time.

In addition to Plasma-Jet™ systems, Corotec designs and manufactures a complete line of standard and custom corona discharge surface treating equipment of narrow web and wide web applications, systems for controlled atmosphere testing, ozone generators for coating and laminating processes, and other advanced applications.