Until recently, mechanical embossing of a UV cured wear coating was not possible. For processes in which mechanical embossing of the coating is required, hot melt PUR coatings have become the most popular choice. Hot melt PUR’s are easily embossed with a heated and textured roll. They also deliver strong wear resistance, achieving AC4 – AC 5 performance.

 

But the curing mechanism of hot melt PUR’s limits its use especially in high-volume manufacturing processes. Hot melt PUR’s rely on moisture and time to fully cure. It can take up to 5-7 days to fully cure the coating. In addition, it can take days for the coating to partially cure enough so that it can withstand finishing processes such as edge profiling. ZEEtree’s latest innovation is its LWL® which now has the capability to be mechanically embossed after the coating is fully UV cured.

 

This innovation eliminates the need for high humidity environments for full curing and the coated product can flow immediately to finishing steps such as edge routing. The added benefit of this new coating is that it avoids large in-process inventories of material waiting to be finished thus lowering the risk of potential large scrap events that cannot be detected until the final finishing steps.

 

The addition of mechanical embossing capability also opens the door to exciting new texturing possibilities. Mechanical embossing in combination with digital texturing could lead to new and unexpected effects with the potential to enhance digital designs.