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Atmospheric Plasma
The surface tension, surface energy or wettability of many materials are too weak for bonding, gluing or painting operations. Atmospheric plasma treatment appears to be a very effective way to improve the surface tension of a material.
What is plasma treatment?
Plasma treatment involves very strong oxidation of the surface of a material. The oxidation of surface molecules increases the surface tension of a plastic, glass or metal material. Therefore, plasma treatment can be used to improve the chemical properties of a material to make it easier to bond, glue and paint. The atmospheric plasma jet has three effects:
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Kinetic, by bombarding the surface with highly-accelerated ions and molecules.
Thermal, due to the change of state from gas to plasma (jet temperature of approximately 200°C).
Chemical, by reaction of the material treated with the atoms.
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No visible effect of plasma treatment on the material
As a general rule, materials are exposed to plasma treatment for a very brief period of time, between 1/100th and 1/10th of a second.
This means that even the very thinnest of films are only altered on the surface. No holes appear. The mechanical, visual and electrical properties remain unaltered.
Plasma treatment simply leads to the production of ozone oxide.
Test inks can be used to measure the effectiveness of the treatment.
The effects of plasma treatment over time
Surface tension will decrease over time after plasma treatment.
With polypropylene (PP) for example, the surface tension will decrease over the first week by around 30% and then by the same value over the following 6 months.
This phenomenon must be taken into account in order to minimise storage time following plasma treatment.
Plasma treatment solution is the more environmentally-friendly solution
Plasma treatment is more environmentally-friendly as it does not require the use of any chemical products.
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Plasma technology in the watch-making and jewellery industry
Plasma is increasingly used to ensure compliance with strict watch-making industry standards in terms of the aesthetics, functionality and sustainability of products.
Plasma treatment is becoming increasingly popular as it enables ultra-fine cleaning while remaining at a relatively low temperature.
The fact that the components do not need to be dried is another major advantage.
Benefits to the customer
- Improved adhesion between surfaces
- Increased wettability: from hydrophobic to hydrophilic
- Cleaning by removal of organic contaminants, resins or oxidation
- Deposit of a thin layer
The advantages of CMP AUTOMATION
- Custom integration into an existing process
- Test machine available
- Process validation with our partner:
