The most common cause of glass contamination is the mishandling of lamps and bulbs during routine lamp maintenance. This can be prevented with the use of shatterproof coatings. By applying fluoroplastics as a protective barrier, more volatile and delicate materials such as glass can be safely used in a wide variety of settings without fear of contamination or shattering. Coating glass lamps in FEP makes them more durable, resilient and shatterproof.

Why use FEP for shatterproofing lamps?

Used initially for UVA lamps in electronic fly killers, and subsequently for UVC and white lights, FEP has proved to be the ultimate coating material for shatterproofing lamps and preventing glass contamination. It allows glass and mercury to be safely contained in the shrunk-on jacket when breakage occurs and yet does not become degraded by the heat or UV emitted by the lamps.

The fluoropolymer is transparent to UV light, completely unaffected by UV light, non-stick, strong and sturdy, and able to withstand high temperatures. As such, FEP does not become degraded by the heat or UV rays emitted by the lamps.

The FEP coating also outlasts the life of the lamp, where other inferior plastic coverings embrittle or discolour under the effect of the UV radiation. With an FEP heat shrink sleeve, the UV transmission rate remains high at approximately 97% for UVA and approximately 85% for UVC, thereby ensuring maximum performance for the lifetime of the lamp.

Pioneering shatterproof FEP lamp coatings

Adtech is a pioneer in shatterproof lamp technology. In fact, we were the very first company in Europe to apply FEP lamp coatings to glass in this way and carry out testing on the UV transmission of FEP.

More than 20 years since we pioneered the practice, FEP coated shatterproof lamps are now found everywhere a glass-free area is required, from schools to public spaces, leisure centres, hotels and restaurants, hospitals, warehouses, food processing plants and other industrial and scientific settings.

FEP lamp coatings can cover UVC sterilisation lamps, UVA insect lamps and fluorescent lamps in all lamp configurations, from straight to compact, circline and tight U-bend styles. The lamp coating has been developed to be quickly and easily applied to lamp tubes at temperatures low enough to avoid thermal damage, common in other coating methods.

Delivering shatterproof lamp coatings for your applications

We manufacture heat shrinkable FEP to cover lamps and can cover virtually all lamp configurations, including straight, compact, circline (circular) and tight U-bend styles. Our specialist coating process ensures your lamps are IEC61549 compliant for use in glass free environments.

We can provide you with ready-coated FEP shatterproof lamps, or if you wish, we can give you the materials you need to coat your own lamps. In addition, we offer a heat-shrinkable FEP lamp coating service for free-issue and non-linear lamps.

Our FEP lamp coatings have a maximum continuous operating temperature of 200°C and do not embrittle or discolour over time as with other coatings. The integrity of the fluoropolymer coating will long outlast the manufacturers specified lifespan of the lamp.

Here at Adtech, we are specialists in delivering innovative fluoropolymer solutions for your technical applications. Find out more about our Shatterproof Lamp Coatings.

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