Establishing the Process Window for UV Curable Pressure Sensitive Adhesives, 1999 Hot Melt Symposium Proceedings
Rick Fisher
Fusion UV Systems, Inc.
Ultraviolet curable Pressure Sensitive Adhesives (UVPSA) are unlike any other UV curable coatings. It is normally desirable to maximize the degree of crosslinking within a cured coating. This is not the case when curing a UVPSA. The surface of PSA is “softer” than that of other “cured” UV coatings. The soft surface results in a measure of cold flow that allows the adhesive to form a controlled intimate bond with the substrate during the end-use application. The balance of the adhesive and the cohesive strength within the cured coating is critical to the performance of the UVPSA, and the UV energy must be delivered to the wet film in a controlled and efficient fashion.
Establishing the Process Window for UV Curable Pressure Sensitive Adhesives, 1999 Hot Melt Symposium