A UV curing conveyor that passes a quick “parts came out hard” check on installation day has not been accepted — it has only been switched on. Acceptance testing establishes the baseline every later radiometer reading and cure complaint will be compared against.
Q: How do you accept a new UV curing conveyor before production?
A: Verify configuration, belt speed, irradiance, dose, controls, and cure on real parts — and record each result as the baseline
Acceptance is a short series of measurements, run in a fixed order, that proves the delivered machine matches what was ordered and that it cures your parts at your production settings. The records it produces become the reference values for maintenance, troubleshooting, and any later requalification. The protocol below is written around the Incure CDM™ platform but applies to any UV curing conveyor.
Test 1: Configuration Matches the Order
Before power-up, confirm the lamp head’s part number and factory-configured wavelength (365, 385, 395, or 405 nm for LED heads) against the purchase order and the adhesive’s qualification. For arc heads, confirm x2AC (UVA plus a 254 nm UVC tube in one assembly) versus x2A (two UVA-only heads in series) — the two are not interchangeable once a process is qualified on one. Check the belt type: polypropylene on the standard CDM™, stainless-steel wire on the CDM™ Compact, and anti-static if specified.
Test 2: Belt Speed Is What the Display Says
Dose depends directly on belt speed, so measure it independently. Mark the belt, time how far the mark travels, and compute speed. Consider a hypothetical check at a 6 ft/min setting: the mark travels 36 inches in 30 seconds, which is 72 inches per minute, or exactly 6 ft/min. Repeat at the low and high ends of the range — 1.5 and 12.0 ft/min — and at your production setting.
Test 3: Irradiance at Working Distance
With the lamp warmed to stable output where applicable, place a radiometer probe at the bond height of a real part and measure irradiance. Compare against the published value at the stated working distance — for example, 1,900 mW/cm² at 2 inches for the L64 or L88 at 385/395/405 nm, or 490 mW/cm² at 365 nm for an F400 head. Record the reading, the probe position, the curing height setting, and the radiometer’s identity; a reading is only comparable later if the same setup is repeated.
Email Us if a commissioning reading differs from the published figure and Incure can help work out whether the setup or the head is the cause.
Test 4: Dose Across the Speed Range
Run a dose-measuring radiometer through the conveyor at three speeds and compare with the published curve. For the CDM™ F200x2A, the published UVA dose is 18,000 mJ/cm² at 1.5 ft/min, 4,500 at 6 ft/min, and 2,260 at 12 ft/min. Measured values will vary with working distance, part height, reflectivity, and measurement method, so the purpose is to establish your own curve on your own setup, not to match the brochure to the digit. Then take a short pass across the belt width to confirm the edges of the part width receive comparable dose.
Test 5: Controls and Interlocks
For LED heads, exercise every control input that the cell will use — PLC, RS-232, foot switch — and confirm both timer and continuous modes behave as expected. If a part-present sensor will switch the lamp, test it with a loaded carrier. For arc heads, which have no external control port, confirm belt-speed control and verify that the forced-air cooling and exhaust ventilation are connected and operating before running a full shift.
Test 6: Cure on Production Parts
Run real parts at the production belt speed and curing height, in their production carriers, and test them with the adhesive supplier’s cure method. Include the tallest and widest parts in the product mix and parts with the most shadowed adhesive. A pass on an easy part says little about the hard ones.
What the Acceptance Record Should Contain
| Item | Record |
|---|---|
| Head part number and wavelength | As delivered |
| Belt speed check | Set vs. measured at 1.5, production, 12.0 ft/min |
| Irradiance | Value, probe position, curing height, instrument |
| Dose curve | Measured mJ/cm² at three speeds |
| Controls | Each input tested, pass/fail |
| Cure results | Part numbers, test method, outcome |
| Lamp hours at acceptance | Starting point for decay tracking |
That last row matters: LED heads are rated beyond 20,000 hours with 20% or less decay, arc heads beyond 1,000 hours with up to 45% decay, and future readings are judged against the acceptance value.
Configuration data for every head is in the Incure CDM™ UV conveyor guide. The general overview of conveyorized curing is in the curing conveyor industrial guide, and the arc lamp background is in the Incure F-Series™ flood lamp guide.
Contact Our Team for support planning acceptance testing on a new UV curing conveyor.
Visit www.incurelab.com for more information.