UV ice flower and glass art decoration
Hangzhou Kewang Special Ink Co., Ltd. He Ping
Content summary : This article mainly discusses the characteristics, formation mechanism and application scope of UV ice flower ink, clarifies the three processes of UV ice flower formation, introduces the structural characteristics of the ice flower light-curing machine and the production process of ice flower glass, and discusses in detail the UV The influencing factors of ice flower formation and solidification point out five development trends of ice flower glass decoration. Keywords : UV ice flower ink, ice flower glass, ice flower light-curing machine, UV ice flower mechanism, UV special effect ink.

Part 1 Characteristics, mechanism and application of UV ice flower 1) Characteristics of UV ice flower ink UV ice flower ink is a kind of UV special effect ink. It is usually a transparent colorless or colored oily fluid. Under a certain intensity of ultraviolet light, it can An ice crack pattern pattern with artistic effects is formed, as shown in Figure 1. UV ice flower ink must be transparent, and the color cannot be too dark, and liquid diluents or solid fillers cannot be added to the ink. Otherwise, ice flowers cannot be produced. It is a very delicate type of UV special effect ink and is difficult to control. Among all UV inks, UV ice flower ink has the slowest curing speed, and the structure of the light-curing machine used is also different from that of general UV equipment, as shown in Figure 2.        
Figure 1 UV ice flower glass                                Figure 2 Special light-curing machine for UV ice flowers 2) Formation mechanism of UV ice flowers When UV ice flower ink is irradiated by ultraviolet light, two reactions will occur. One is the main reaction, which is the photochemical polymerization/cross-linking reaction, which promotes the solidification of the ink and simultaneously produces Volume shrinkage, due to the high functionality of the resin in the formula, the ice flower cured film is both hard and brittle. The shrinkage and curing process of the ink layer are asynchronous and uneven. The result will inevitably cause stress concentration, causing the cured film to crack, forming many crack patterns similar to the ice surface being knocked, that is, ice flower patterns. UV ice flower texture is formed naturally and is not caused by man-made factors. It has the characteristics of natural beauty and strong artistic sense. It makes people marvel at the artistic charm of UV technology. The other is a side reaction, which is the oxygen resistance effect caused by oxygen in the air. That is to say, oxygen will hinder the further solidification of the ink, which is detrimental to curing. Especially the surface of the ice flower ink layer that is in direct contact with the air is difficult to solidify. The mechanism of ice flower formation and solidification is very complex. This is not the focus of our research. However, correctly understanding the basic chemical principles of ice flower formation, effectively controlling and adjusting the speed of the primary and secondary reactions, and making the curing proceed in the preset direction are UV ice flowers. The key to the success or failure of glass product production. 3) The formation process of UV ice flowers The formation process of UV ice flowers is divided into three stages: the generation of large cracks, the formation of small ice filaments, and the drying of the ice flower ink layer. Observe the UV ice flower pattern carefully, especially when viewing it with a high-power magnifying glass, you will find that the ice flower is composed of many large and small cracks, some cracks are large and long, and some cracks are short and thin (referred to as ice filaments). Large cracks intersect and connect with each other, just like the main roads of transportation highways, forming the main transportation network in the first place. The size of the ice flower pattern is determined by the area enclosed by the large cracks. The larger the area, the larger the ice flower, and vice versa. When the printed ice flower ink enters the area irradiated by ultraviolet light, a white mist-like solidified layer will slowly appear on the surface of the ink. The originally completely transparent coating becomes less transparent and gradually forms a criss-crossing crack pattern. , just like many lightning trails appearing in the sky. The process of generating large cracks generally requires 20-40 seconds of medium-intensity UV light irradiation. Figures 3-1, 3-2, and 3-3 respectively show different patterns during the formation of large UV ice flower cracks. As the large cracks gradually deepen, the white mist on the surface of the ink layer gradually fades away, becoming transparent in some places and translucent in other places, just like sunlight is reflected in the cloudy sky, some places are cloudy, and some places are sunny. , slowly the clouds in the sky became less and less, and finally disappeared completely, and the ink layer turned into a transparent layer with many large cracks. In the blink of an eye, countless tiny ice filaments appeared on the edge of the large crack, growing rapidly in one direction until they met the opposite ice filaments. The formation time of the ice filaments was very short, usually 5-10 seconds. If you touch the ink surface with your hands at this time, it will be sticky and has not yet solidified. The thickness and density of the ice silk determine the three-dimensional effect of the ice flower pattern. The denser and thinner the ice silk, the more obvious the reflection and refraction effect of the ice flower, the stronger the three-dimensional effect, but the poorer transparency; the thicker the ice silk, the lower the density, the better the transparency of the ice flower ink layer.
Figure 3-1                                             Figure 3-2.                                              Figure 3-3 The formation process of large UV ice flower cracks . After the large cracks and small ice filaments are formed, the ice flower ink layer needs to be irradiated with strong UV light to dry quickly, otherwise the beautiful ice flower pattern will become blurred due to oxygen resistance. , getting uglier and uglier. UV cracks determine the size of ice flowers, and ice silk determines the three-dimensional effect. Only by fully understanding the formation process and influencing factors of UV ice flowers can we produce UV ice flower decorative products with strong three-dimensional effect, high transparency and suitable size. Figure 4 is a microscopic picture of a transparent UV small ice fiber glass sample. Although the production process of a piece of ice flower glass product only takes one or two minutes, it seems simple, but if you put on a pair of sunglasses, follow the movement of the ice flower glass product on the mesh belt of the light-fixing machine, and watch the formation process of the ice flower together, you will I discovered that there is a big world inside, which is endlessly wonderful. I really don’t know what to look at, and I am shocked when I look at it. When the product first came in, there was still a flat layer of varnish on the glass surface, but suddenly many network cracks appeared, as if Ma Liang's magical light pen was carving, first carving thick lines, then drawing thin lines, and finally a divine light shone. , the screen is dry. No matter what major you study, you will be attracted by the ever-changing photochemical reactions, as if you feel that you are both a technical engineer and an art master. Technology and art are inseparable. High-grade glass decoration products must be an organic fusion of advanced technology and artistic design. Figure 5 is a sample of burgundy UV ice flower glass.     
Figure 4 Micrograph of transparent UV ice silk                        Figure 5 Wine red UV ice glass                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            4) Application scope of UV ice flower decoration UV ice flower ink is suitable for printing on transparent substrates, such as glass, transparent acrylic, transparent PC, etc. It is often used for reverse printing and front view, and can also be printed on substrates with reflective effects. , such as mirror stainless steel, titanium plate, mirror alumina plate and other metals with reflective effects, and mirror gold and silver cardboard, etc. Each UV ice flower pattern has its own characteristics. It is impossible to find two identical ones. All ice flower decoration products are non-repetitive and full of personality. Therefore, products decorated with UV ice flowers are not only full of personality, but also artistic and metallic. 5) Dilution of ice flower ink UV ice flower ink generally does not contain or rarely contains volatile substances, and does not usually need to be diluted during printing. When the temperature is low, the cleaned glass can be preheated before printing to eliminate a small number of bubbles on the ink surface. Glass products printed with UV ice flower ink must be light-cured after the bubbles on the surface are completely eliminated, otherwise the ice flower pattern formed will be very uneven. Because the ink layer without bubbles has low oxygen resistance and the ice flowers come out quickly; where there are bubbles, the oxygen resistance is large and the ice flowers are cured by strong ultraviolet light before they come out. On a piece of glass, some places have ice flowers, and some places do not have ice flowers. You can tell whether it is ugly or not. Therefore, if you want to produce uniform and beautiful ice flower glass and reduce defective products, you must pay attention to the bubble problem during the printing process. 6) Printing of UV ice flower ink Whether the ice flower ink is printed evenly not only affects the color depth of the product, but also determines the size of the ice flower pattern. When printing ice flower ink, 200-260 mesh screen printing is generally used. If the mesh is low and the ink layer is thick, the ice flower will be large. On the contrary, the ice flower pattern will be small. The viscosity of ice flower ink is relatively high. When screen printing, the scraping speed should be slowed down to make the ink layer uniform. Otherwise, the products produced will not only have different color shades, but also different ice flower sizes. Once, a customer asked me why the glass ice flowers he produced were small in the middle and large on both sides? This is because his screen is loosely stretched and the size is large (2.2 meters * 3.50 meters). The tension is not enough. In order to prevent the ink from sticking to the screen during printing, the screen distance has to be raised, resulting in scratches in the middle of the screen. The greater the pressure, the less ink will be printed on the middle part of the glass, and the ink layer will be thinner, so the ice pattern will be smaller. The mesh on both sides is closer to the frame, so the pressure will be less, and more ink will be missed, and the ink layer will be thicker. The ice flowers are large and the color is darker than the middle. When printing UV ice flower ink, the ambient temperature should be kept as stable as possible. When the temperature is high, the viscosity of the ink is low, the bubbles disappear quickly, the printing ink layer is thin, and the ice pattern formed after illumination is small; when the temperature is low, the viscosity of the ink is high, bubbles are easy to occur during printing, the ink layer is thick, and the patterns formed are larger. . Therefore, fluctuations in the printing environment temperature will directly lead to changes in the size of the ice flower pattern, thus affecting the batch stability of the product. It is recommended that the printing environment temperature should be controlled within the temperature range of 20-30°C.     The printed ice flower glass cannot be left for too long, otherwise the ice flowers will appear unevenly. Because the longer it is left, the more oxygen is dissolved in the ink layer, the greater the oxygen resistance during light curing, and the slower the formation of ice flowers. Even the ink layer is solidified before the ice flowers come out, so the printed glass will have bubbles. After elimination, it should be sent to the light curing machine in time. A good ice flower light-curing machine usually has an infrared heating section about one meter long at the front, so that the ice flower ink layer can be defoamed and leveled in time before it is light-cured. 7) UV glass ice flower varieties Kewang Company has currently developed three series of UV glass ice flower inks, N, M, and H, each with its own characteristics and different uses, see Table 1. Compared with the M series, the N series has faster ice flowers. The M series cured film has good toughness and excellent water resistance. The H series has large ice flowers, fast flowers and excellent water resistance.                     Table 1 Characteristics and uses of different types of UV glass ice flowers

6-1 Large 6-2 Medium 6-3 Small picture 6 Comparison of large and medium ice flower patterns 8) Storage of ice flower ink UV ice flower ink should be sealed and protected from light and stored in an environment below 25℃, with a storage period of 6 months.