PCTAbstract.docx

AdvancesinLowEnergyElectronBeamEquipmentTechnologyKarIE.SWanSonPCTEngineeredSystems,LLC-USAKeywords:electronbeam,systems,equipment,technologyElectronbeam(EB)technologyhasbeenusedinindustrialapplicationsformorethan30years.TheuseofEBisdrivenbyanumberoffactorsincluding:improvedproductperformance,productconsistency,highthroughput,energysavings,andenvironmentaladvantages.ThenatureofEBtechnologycanalsoenableuniqueapplicationsthatarenotpossiblebyothermeans.Recentadvancesinequipmenttechnologyarehelpingtoexpandtheapplicationsforelectronbeamsystemsthatnowrangefrom15kVto175kV. MostoftherecentdevelopmentsinEBequipmenthavefocusedon”lowenergy“systems.Thesesystemstypicallyoperateintherangeofabout70to150kV.Thisequipmentiswellsuitedforcuringofinksandcoatingsusedinpackageprintingapplicationsandcanalsoaddressavarietyofnon-printingconvertingapplications.However,usersandpotentialusersofEBtechnologycontinuetoaskmorefromthesuppliersofthisequipment.Requestsinclude: 1.owercapitalcosts Improvedreliability 1.owercostofoperation Easyandinexpensivemaintenance Widerrangesofvoltages Customizationfornewapplications 1.argerrangeofwebwidths Non-webproducthandlingNewapplicationsaredemandingsmallermoreefficientsystemsthatcanintegratedirectlyintoexistingandnewprocesslines.EquipmentprovidersarerespondingtotheserequestsandareintroducinginnovativenewdesignsthatleverageadvancesintechnologyandyearsofexperiencewithindustrialEBsystems.ThispapersummarizesnewlowenergyEBequipmentdevelopmentsandcomparesthesedevelopmentsagainsttheneedsofthemarket.