Electronic Beam curing (EBC) is a surface curing process in the manufacture of high pressure laminate (HPL) boards. The process applies color to a single sheet of

Kraft paper Kraft paper or kraft is paper or paperboard (cardboard) produced from chemical pulp produced in the kraft process. Sack kraft paper (or just sack paper) is a porous kraft paper with high elasticity and high tear resistance, designed for packag ...

which is adhered to a HPL board in such a way that it will keep its color durably while remaining scratch-resistant. Unlike other HPL creation methods, EBC does not use heat.Electronic Beam Curing of Composites
on

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is a U.S. multiprogram science and technology national laboratory sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and administered, managed, and operated by UT–Battelle as a federally funded research and ...

website The EBC machine used in the curing process gives the finished HPL boards a surface that is both color-fade resistant and has a high resistance to damage. The process works by first mixing color pastes to the desired color and then applying it to a single sheet of

kraft paper Kraft paper or kraft is paper or paperboard (cardboard) produced from chemical pulp produced in the kraft process. Sack kraft paper (or just sack paper) is a porous kraft paper with high elasticity and high tear resistance, designed for packag ...

. This substrate is then put in the EBC machine together with a protective foil. In the machine this sheet is then shot with

electrons The electron ( or ) is a subatomic particle with a negative one elementary electric charge. Electrons belong to the first generation of the lepton particle family, and are generally thought to be elementary particles because they have no ...

at such high velocity that the color impregnated paper hardens almost instantly. After being stored in a temperature-controlled room for a short duration the sheets are ready to be adhered to unfinished HPL boards in a process called dry forming.

References

{{reflist Composite materials Curing agents