The curing oven is a crucial equipment in the curing process of powder coatings. After spraying, the workpiece enters the curing oven for heating, causing the powder to melt, level out, and form a uniform coating. The curing temperature and time depend on the type of resin: thermoplastic powders usually require 200–400℃, while thermosetting powders generally cure within the range of 180–200℃.
The types of powder coating curing ovens include bridge type, straight-through type and box type, etc.
| Curing Oven Type | Advantages | Disadvantages | Application Scenarios |
| Straight-Through Convection Oven | Compact design; uniform heat distribution suitable for complex workpieces | Higher heat loss; slower temperature ramp-up | Household appliances |
| Bridge-Type Convection Oven | Improved thermal efficiency and productivity; uniform heat distribution for complex workpieces | Slower temperature ramp-up | Household appliances |
| Infrared Curing Oven | Fast heating through simultaneous heating of substrate and coating; reduced contamination due to fan-free operation | Temperature uniformity may be affected by part geometry and heating distance; unsuitable for complex-shaped parts | Flat panels, wire mesh, and other simple geometries |
The common methods of solidification currently include the following types
| Parameter | Conventional Thermal Curing | Low-Temperature Curing | UV Curing | NIR Curing |
| Curing Time | 600–1200 s | 1200–1800 s | 120–180 s | 1–20 s |
| Curing Temperature | 180–200°C | 120–130°C | 100–140°C | 140–200°C |
| Film Thickness Limitation | None | None | < 100 μm | None |
| Suitability for Heat-Sensitive Substrates | Not Suitable | Suitable | Suitable | Suitable |
| Color Restrictions | None | None | Yes | None |
| Production Efficiency | Moderate | Low | High | High |
Analysis of the Trends in Powder Coating Curing Processes
The achievement of low-temperature curing for powder coatings has become one of the future development directions in the powder coating industry.
To address the issues associated with low-temperature curing, UV-curable powder coatings and NIR (near-infrared) curing powder coatings have also begun to gain prominence.
Ultraviolet curing and near-infrared curing, as new curing technologies, although they have not been widely adopted in China's industrial sector due to high costs, have great potential for development after cost reduction through research and development.https://www.powdercoating.org/?utm_source=chatgpt.com https://www.eupia.org/ https://www.iso.org/home.htmlhttps://www.lekamaterial.com/news/
