New GEW E-Brick integrates wide format UV printing and converting

GEW has announced the further development of its e-Brick electronic power supply for wide web printing formats available with as much as 32kW of high frequency square wave power.

UV lamps up to two meters in length can now be run without the need for a transformer driven power supply. The company says the advantages of this are numerous: reliability is increased as the UV lamps run with better stability; lamp life is increased reducing down time and phase loading is balanced. The units themselves are a fraction of the size of a conventional transformer supply so much less valuable factory space is needed for installation of wide format UV curing system.

Having a constant lamp output delivers savings because kilowatt for kilowatt, less energy is required to cure at a given speed than with a pulsed output. Barring effects that occur when the pulsing lamp causes bands of greater and lesser curing at high web speeds are also eliminated. In addition because the lamp receives a smooth power input, it is under less stress and so lasts longer.

The e-Bricks can be easily and safely stacked to reduce their footprint or even integrated with the press. The major advantage however, comes in the form of reduced energy consumption and costs as well as carbon emissions. These are now key issues in the industry where printers are under pressure to reduce overheads and become ‘greener’.

Compared to conventional power supply, the company claims e-Brick’s high frequency, square wave technology can boost UV output by over 20 percent and reduce energy consumption by up to 30 percent for an equivalent cure. The key to this is through supplying the UV lamp with continuous rather than fluctuating power that results in electrical energy being converted to UV more efficiently.

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