Air-cooled UV LED light source offers revolutionary curing performance and compact size

Kyocera Corporation has developed a new air-cooled, UV LED light source that ranks among the smallest in its class, providing revolutionary curing performance for applications such as ink, resin curing, and adhesion.

The device achieves the highest irradiance in its class, contributing to space-saving with market-leading miniaturisation. Its customisable irradiation width will suit a wide variety of printed materials. Stable operation is enabled by monitoring functions for irradiation status.

In recent years, UV-curing light sources have faced important challenges, including reducing CO2 emissions by decreasing power consumption, lowering ozone emissions, and complying with mercury regulations. Furthermore, there is a growing demand for space-saving solutions in today's manufacturing, which has led to a need for more compact light sources with enhanced curing performance.

The company's UV LED light sources not only have a low environmental impact but also utilise an air-cooled system that eradicates the necessity for cooling water, even at high output. As a result, additional equipment, such as a water-cooling system, is unnecessary, allowing a more compact installation. Through this, the product contributes to greater efficiency and reduced environmental impact for various devices employed in manufacturing sites, such as printing, adhesion, and liquid gasket.

By utilising the company's proprietary ceramic substrate with heat dissipation and a module heat dissipation design that includes a heat sink, it has maximised energy efficiency while achieving an irradiance of 20 W/cm² (at 0mm irradiance distance), the highest among air-cooled UV LED light sources in this class. Also, by achieving a total dose of 400mJ/cm² at 50m/min, which is an important indicator of curing performance, the company has achieved high-speed curing performance comparable to water-cooled UV LED light sources, all within a compact design.

Compared to the conventional high-output G5H Series, the G7A Series has a footprint that is 62% smaller and a height that is 10% lower, placing it among the world's most compact (120mm x 52mm x 151mm) UV LED light sources with the same optical performance. The G7A features a 30mm irradiation window, enabling space savings while maintaining high curing performance.

The series features a scalable structure in 120mm increments, enabling the irradiation width to be adjusted from a minimum of 120mm to a maximum of 2,400mm by connecting multiple light source units. This allows flexible customisation of the irradiation width to suit a wide variety of printed materials. Furthermore, the system can connect to external devices via serial communication, allowing for fine adjustments to the LED irradiation width in increments of approximately 30mm.

The series features monitoring functions via serial communication, allowing for LED temperature, LED current, fan operation time, and accumulated LED lighting hours. It can detect lighting and system errors, providing notifications for filter replacement and LED lifespan, ensuring stable system operation.

Through the G7A Series, the company will contribute to space savings in a wide range of industrial printing and curing applications, while also supporting a sustainable global environment.