Though ebeam technology has existed for over 40 years, there are still quite a few seasoned coatings professionals that are not aware of the effectiveness of ebeam curing and the value it holds over its competing technologies. Fortunately, however, the cat is slowly coming out of the bag: use of ebeam technology continues to be a growing topic among coaters, printers and package converters. Ebeam instantly dries – or more accurately, cures – ebeam-friendly inks, coatings and laminate adhesives onto paper, film, paperboard or metal. Those using ebeam have documented benefits that include superior product consistency, improved product performance, higher process throughput and greater energy savings.
Figure 1 is a cut-away diagram of the vacuum chamber of an electron beam system. The ebeam curing/crosslinking process starts when an electrically charged filament – usually made of tungsten – generates clouds of electrons within an ebeam system’s vacuum chamber.