Surface treatment of plastic pipes – inside and out

Plastic piping is used in a wide variety of applications and across a range of different industries. The three main types, PE, PEX, and PP, share one basic characteristic – low surface energy. This makes it difficult for inks, coatings and foams to adhere to the surface. Tantec Corona treaters solve these problems by increasng surface energy and improving adhesion.

Many different applications

PE, PEX, and PP display a wide range of properties that make plastic piping systems the ideal choice for anything from pressured water mains, gravity sewer systems, indoor heating systems, and a continuously growing number of new markets and uses. Plastic pipes are used in:
• Water pipes
• Gas pipes
• Sewer pipes
• Cable protection or conduit
• Heating and cooling pipes
• Industrial systems
• Cables with inner conductor
• Cables without inner conductor
• Optical fiber

Advantages of plastic pipes

Plastic pipes have numerous advantages over regular steel pipes, such as being light-weight, strong,flexible, cost-effective and durable. Their resistance to many ordinary chemicals such as acids, bases, salts, and oxidants make them suitable for a wide range of special applications. They are easy to install and require minimum maintenance, while offering long-term resistance to a variety of service conditions such as abrasion, temperature, ground movement, bending, weathering, internal pressure, etc.

 

Surface treatment

Improved product durability has lead to a decline in wettability – a surface’s ability to adhere to liquids such as inks and other coatings. This decline in adhesive power has lead to the development of new and innovative methods to improve wettability.

Tantec’s corona treatment systems provide substantial flexibility in the treatment of a wide variety of materials used in the pipe industry, and is a key method in solving adhesion problems. Tantec’s specialized corona treaters can treat pipes across their complete length with superior one-pass coverage and consistency. Corona treatment chemically roughens the surface, allowing it to ’grab onto’ the ink, foam or coating being applied to the plastic pipe. The resulting chemical bond that occurs with the pipe’s surface is stronger than a simple mechanical bond.

Tantec Plasma Treaters and Corona Surface Treatment Systems applied in the Cable Industry:

SpotTECpowerful partial-surface treatment
The SpotTEC is an in-line pre-treatment system designed specifically to be easily integrated into new or existing pipe production lines. The frequency by which SpotTEC treats pipes depends on the size, thickness and extrusion speed of the pipe.

CableTEC optimizes adhesion properties of printing inks onto cables
CableTEC uses highly durable ceramic electrode elements resulting in complete and uniform surface
treatment of the cables. The CableTEC is available both as a standard and custom unit in a low and high speed configurations for integration into existing printing lines

PlasmaTEC-Xpowerful partial-surface treatment
Atmospheric Plasma treatment provides an economical solution for the cleaning and activation of complex surfaces that cannot be treated using regular corona treatment mechanisms.

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