3D printing – or additive manufacturing – has come a long way in a very short time, aided in no small measure by the capabilities of UV and EB curing. In this article, the Secretary General of RadTech Europe, the European association for the radiation curing technologies, reviews the current status in the dynamic 3D printing market.
The UV and EB technologies have been around for many years, enabling speedy and efficient curing of, for example, wooden flooring/panels and architectural coatings, and – more recently – the fast curing of printing inks, especially for labels and packaging, to deliver higher press speeds. Using UV/EB technology today, 3D objects can be created in plastic from a digital file. This is the new focus for a much wider range of industries, from medical devices to toys, custom jewelry, electronics and automotive components. All these new applications involve radiation curing.