What is the difference between a mercury lamp and an LED lamp in a UV flatbed printer? Many people don’t know the difference. With the continuous improvement of LED technology, more and more UV printers use LED lamps to replace the previous mercury lamps. Let me introduce the difference between LED lamps and mercury lamps.
Features of mercury lamps
1. High power consumption
The mercury lamp is driven by high voltage and consumes high power. The power is usually several kilowatts to several tens of kilowatts, and it must be preheated after it is turned on. The lamp’s life span is about 800-1000 hours.
2. Large wavelength range, large heat release, low curing efficiency
The mercury lamp has a large wavelength range, a large amount of heat, and low curing efficiency. The UV spectrum that is really used for effective curing only accounts for a part of the energy, and a large part of it is infrared radiation, which easily deforms heat-sensitive workpieces.
3. Irradiation is uneven, along the length of the tube
The luminous intensity at the two ends is weaker than the middle part, and it cannot illuminate uniformly, and cannot achieve uniform irradiation of flat objects, which makes the light intensity absorbed by the curing material different, which affects the curing effect.
4. Poor adjustability
The adjustment of the radiation intensity of the mercury lamp is generally realized by changing the number of lighted tubes in the multi-light source. The corresponding radiation intensity changes between a limited number of values, and the application is not flexible enough.
5. Much auxiliary equipment and complicated operation
The mercury lamp needs to be equipped with cooling equipment, resulting in much auxiliary equipment, complicated operations, and increasing operating costs.
6. Heavy metal pollution
Mercury lamps and halogen lamps are polluted by heavy metals, which pose a burden on the surrounding environment.
Features of LED lights
1. Long life
LEDs have a long lifespan, some can reach 80,000 hours under certain conditions, and slightly shorter, some can reach 30,000 to 50,000 hours.
2. Narrow wavelength and high concentration
The LED has a narrow wavelength and high concentration, and the emitted light wavelength basically belongs to the absorption range of the photoinitiator in the ink.
3. Easy to adjust the radiation intensity
LED can easily adjust the radiation intensity and adjust the corresponding power according to different materials.
4. The light source irradiates uniformly
The LED surface light source irradiates uniformly.
Comparison of the advantages of flat UV printer LED lamps and mercury lamps
Energy saving:
At present, the luminous efficiency of a 50-watt LED high bay lamp is more than 5000lm, which is equivalent to the illuminance of a 150-watt high-pressure mercury lamp. It can also reduce the power consumption of about 20 watts of rectifiers, and the power saving rate can reach more than 50%.
Environmental protection:
Since there are no ultraviolet and infrared rays in the spectrum, neither heat nor radiation, it is a green light source. Compared with previous high-pressure mercury lamps, LED lamps are mercury-free, waste can be recycled, and there is no pollution.
life:
Based on the current technical level and test results, the life of LED high bay lights can reach 50,000 hours, while the life of traditional high-pressure mercury lamps is less than 5,000 hours. On average, it needs to be replaced once in less than a year, and some even need to be replaced in 3 months. once.
From the above comprehensive comparison, it can be clearly seen that LED lamps have the following characteristics of mercury lamps: saving money and energy, low overall cost, long service life, low surface humidity, safety and reliability, and environmental protection of the light source.
