Dry and primer-free surface treatment with Openair-Plasma will be the focus of the Plasmatreat GmbH booth at PaintExpo 2024. From April 9 to 12, the leading developer and manufacturer of atmospheric plasma systems and equipment will be demonstrating the activation, cleaning and coating of various materials such as plastics, glass and metal at its booth 1210 in hall 1. Visitors can also learn how to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of their manufacturing processes.

If parts are difficult or impossible to paint, the cause is usually a low surface energy or a contaminated surface and the associated poor adhesion properties of the material. Only when the surface energy of the material to be painted is higher than that of the paint to be applied will uniform wettability and therefore optimum adhesion be ensured. It is also important that the surface is clean and free of release agent residue, grease or dust.

Various pretreatment methods have been used in the industry to improve adhesion properties, such as grinding, sandblasting, etching, flame and plasma treatment. Plasma technology has significant advantages over many conventional processes: it is in-line, selective and can be applied to the entire surface. "The dry Openair-Plasma process completely eliminates the need for environmentally harmful wet chemical primers. In this way, we also reduce the release of VOCs (volatile organic compounds) into the atmosphere," explains Joachim Schüßler, Head of Sales Germany at Plasmatreat GmbH.

In addition to reducing VOCs, manufacturers can also reduce their carbon footprint by using plasma surface treatment: the reactive plasma species are generated by a combination of compressed air and electricity, eliminating the need for solvents or huge amounts of gas for flame treatment. Using fast-drying UV coatings in combination with Openair-Plasma eliminates the need for costly and space-consuming ovens to dry painted components during pretreatment. Plasma pretreatment is ideal as an environmentally friendly solution that provides optimum adhesion properties for a perfect paint finish.

Openair-Plasma for painting applications
Visitors to the Plasmatreat booth at PaintExpo will be able to see for themselves the effectiveness and functionality of plasma surface treatment. Several plasma systems will be available for live demonstrations with different materials. In addition to the activation of a plastic automotive component in a PTU1212 (Plasma Treatment Unit), visitors will see how a Scara robot is used to precision clean various metal battery cells as a pre-treatment for painting with 100% UV paint. Thanks to this Openair-Plasma application, the foiling of the battery cell can be completely and reliably replaced by painting, resulting in cost and time savings and a higher quality of the final products.

At the booth, the plasma experts will clearly activate and clean the surfaces of various materials, such as PP and PE or aluminum, and verify the plasma treatment with various test methods. The plasma effect can be detected and the surface energy determined by measuring the contact angle of a water drop, water spray tests or Plasmatreat's test inks.