A new ultraviolet lamp, developed in close collaboration between Philips and Swedish company Labino, may prove highly useful in industry. The light from the lamp is so powerful and tightly focused that it makes fluorescent objects glow at distances of several hundred metres.

Among the uses for ultraviolet light in industry today are quality control and various kinds of non-destructive testing (NDT). The clever thing about ultraviolet light is that only objects treated with fluorescent pigments glow when you aim UV light at it, whereas ordinary white light illuminates everything it shines on.
Up to now, the technology has been limited to darkened rooms, and it has not been possible to aim the beam of existing UV lamps unless the lamp was very close to the illuminated object. In addition, they are cumbersome and slow to start, and they get so hot that they have to be fitted with safety mesh and fans.
The new lamp was developed from the new Philips MPXL lamp, a gas discharge lamp created for car headlights, and results from close collaboration with Swedish company Labino. Among other things, Philips have filled the lamp with a special gas mixture to maximise the UV output, and Labino developed the necessary drive electronics.

Unprecedented light intensity
The UV output has been boosted to over 17 000 microwatts per square centimetre at a distance of one metre from the light source, compared with 400 microwatts for competing lamps. This gives a light intensity that can make objects glow in neon colours even in daylight and at previously impossible distances.
In addition, the new UV lamp draws only 35 watts, generates very little heat and can be lit and restarted in only a few seconds - a procedure which takes over a quarter of an hour with competing lamps, according to the manufacturer.
The lamp is available both as a floodlight and a spot, with beam spreads of 45 and 3.5 degrees respectively, and is said to withstand environments with strong magnetic fields and large amounts of dust particles.
So far the new UV lamp has given very promising results in traditional UV areas in industry. It brings marked improvements in such applications as non-destructive testing, the tracing of leaks where liquids have been coloured with fluorescent substances, the curing of adhesives and paints, quality control of surfaces coatings, grain-raising in papermaking, and in mineral prospecting.
"We get constant feedback from users who are discovering new fields of application," says Björn Bennarp, Chief Engineer at Labino.

Caption 1: The new UV-lamp from the Swedish company Labino has given very promising results in traditional UV areas in industry. It brings marked improvements in such applications as non-destructive testing, the tracing of leaks and in quality control of surfaces coatings.

Caption 2: The UV output has been boosted to over 17 000 microwatts per square centimetre at a distance of one metre from the light source. This gives a light intensity that can make objects glow in neon colours even in daylight.

For further information:
Mats Hellström, Labino AB
Pyramidvägen 2 D, S-171 36 Solna, Sweden
Tel: +46 8 83 90 70. Fax: +46 8 83 90 23


Advanced NDT Instruments(Industrial)
Orchard House
Orchard Close, Severn Stoke
Worcester WR8 9JJ
England
Phone: +44 1905 371 460
Fax: +44 1905 371 477
Contact person: Mr. James McLaughlin

Cerebrum Lighting Ltd.(Non-Industrial)
Units 4 & 5
Shannon Commercial Centre
Beverley Way, New Malden
Surrey KT3 4PT
England
Phone: +44 181 949 3171
Fax: +44 181 395 6111
Contact person: Mr. John Lethbridge

Enliten Ltd(Non-Industrial)
Architectural Lighting Products
57 Filmer Road
London SW6 7JF
England
Phone: +44 1819 243 934
Fax: +44 1819 248 444
Contact person: Mr. Paul Simson

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