PCU LED N
2
1. Device description
The PCU LED N
(Post Curing Unit LED)
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is a light polymerization device for the
curing of components which have been
created by means of 3D printing. The
following device properties are used in
the curing process:
a) LED technology
b) Electronic control
(micro-controller)
c) Logging and monitoring of the
process parameters
d) Simple control concept
e) Process reliability
f) Different curing environments
(air, vacuum, nitrogen)
g) Open system
Device properties:
a) LED technology
The advantages of the LED techno-
logy are that a permanent light of
one wavelength is emitted. The per-
manently emitted light radiation can
be captured by a standard UV sensor
and thus allows for the measurement
and the observation of the light out-
put in the exposure chamber. Further-
more, LED lamps do not produce any
heat which could cause the material
properties of the plastic component to
be cured to be negatively influenced.
Another advantage of the LED technol-
ogy is that the stated operating life of
the LED lamps is approx. 20,000 hours
and is accompanied by low operating
and maintenance costs.
b) Electronic control (micro-controller)
The use of a micro-controller allows for
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the control and reading of the current,
pressure and temperature sensors.
c) Logging and Monitoring
The information which is recorded by
the current, pressure and temperature
sensors represents the used process
parameters (e.g. light on/off; vacuum
on/off; nitrogen on/off). These process
parameters are recorded, saved and
transferred to a USB storage medium.
This allows for the transparent trace-
ability of the production chain of the
medical device.
d) Simple control concept
The device is operated by the remov-
able rotary button. The corresponding
option is selected by turning the but-
ton. The selected option is operated by
pressing. Longer pressing opens the
parent and sub-folder menu. Another
removable element is the handle which
is used to open the lid of the exposure
chamber. Both elements can be cleaned
with the appropriate cleaning agents
after removal.
e) Process safety
To be able to guarantee a high pro-
cess liability, the control software is
subdivided into two levels. Level 1
is accessible to the user and process
owner. Level 2 is only accessible to the
process owner. In level 1 only a prede-
fined process can be selected. In level 2,
for example, a process can be defined
and an option can be switched on and/
or off.
f) Curing environment
g) Open system
The components to be cured can be
In the PCU LED N
cured under different environments.
mable storage spaces can be used.
The environment to be set depends
on the application and can be found
in table 1.
Table 1: Curing environment for different uses
Environment
Use
Vacuum
Curing of laboratory
products
Nitrogen
Curing of
medical devices
2. Technical data
Weight of the overall package
11.1 kg
Weight of the device
9.3 kg
Dimensions of the overall package
H 220 x W 455 x D 370 mm
Dimensions of the device
H 110 x W 389 x D 276 mm
Polymerization chamber
H 65 x W 150 x D 150 mm
Voltage
100–240 V
Nominal frequency
50–60 Hz
, 10 freely program-
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PCU LED N
nitrogen
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