Some UV adhesive formulations don’t fail to cure because the process is misconfigured — they fail because the pigment loading or bond thickness absorbs dose faster than any single-assembly lamp can deliver it.
The Highest-Energy F400 Configuration on the Fleet
The Incure CDM™ / CDM™ Compact + F400x2A pairs either belt platform with two F400 UVA lamp heads in series — no UVC lamp head — delivering 490 mW/cm² per head at 365 nm across a maximum 5-inch part width. At the slowest belt setting, 1.5 ft/min, that configuration accumulates 21,000 mJ/cm² UVA — the highest curing energy of any F400 configuration on either the standard CDM™ or the stainless-belt CDM™ Compact. At 6 ft/min it’s still 5,260 mJ/cm² UVA, and at 12 ft/min, 2,640 mJ/cm² UVA.
Exactly Double the F400x2AC, at Every Speed
The single-assembly F400x2AC delivers 2,630 mJ/cm² UVA at 6 ft/min from one lamp assembly. The F400x2A places two of the same F400 UVA heads in series on the identical conveyor platform, so each part accumulates dose from both heads in one belt run — precisely double the F400x2AC’s dose at every belt speed, with no change to part width, curing height, or system footprint beyond the second lamp head. For a process already running at target speed on the F400x2AC but not reaching full cure depth, the F400x2A is the direct step up on the same chassis.
UVA-Only, Available on Either Belt Platform
No UVC lamp head means no UVC ventilation, shielding, or PPE overhead beyond standard UV safety practice — a real advantage where UVC exposure management adds process complexity a UVA-only formulation doesn’t require. The F400x2A is available on both the standard CDM™ (9-inch polypropylene belt) and the CDM™ Compact (9-inch stainless-steel wire belt), sharing the identical 3.0–6.5 inch curing height range on either chassis. If your adhesive’s qualification data specifies broadband UVA + UVC exposure, the F400x2AC is the correct configuration instead.
Confirming whether a formulation’s pigment loading or bond thickness actually requires this level of dose — rather than defaulting to the highest-energy option available — is worth a direct check. Email Us with your cure depth requirements and Incure can help size the right configuration.
A practical way to make that call is running a step-down test: cure a representative batch at the F400x2A’s dose level, confirm full cure through the deepest point in the bondline, then repeat at the F400x2AC’s single-head dose and check whether cure quality actually degrades. If the single-assembly configuration still passes, the dual-head F400x2A is available headroom rather than a requirement — useful to know before committing capital to the higher-tier configuration by default.
Maintenance Across Two Heads
Both lamp heads should be replaced on the same maintenance cycle, planned at the 1,000-hour threshold per head, to avoid one head degrading ahead of the other and skewing dose uniformity across the two exposure zones. As with every arc configuration on this fleet, belt speed adjustment is the only process control — no external PLC/RS-232 port is available, and an LED configuration is the alternative where external control integration is required. See the Incure L-Series™ UV LED Flood Lamps family for the LED heads that run on the same CDM™ chassis.
This configuration sits at the top of the Incure CDM™ UV Conveyor lineup for UVA-only curing — matching dose ceiling to what a formulation actually needs, not just what’s available, keeps a process both effective and efficient.
Narrower Part Width Than the F100/F200 Tier
Stepping up to F400 intensity comes with a trade-off worth flagging explicitly: maximum part width drops to 5 inches, compared to 8 inches on the F100/F200 arc lineup, and curing height shifts to a 3.0–6.5 inch range rather than 0.5–5.0 inches. That’s a function of the F400/F500 lamp head geometry, not an oversight — a line that needs both wide-part coverage and F400-level dose isn’t a fit for a single configuration on this platform, and should be evaluated against splitting the process across two stages or reconsidering whether F400 intensity is genuinely required for the part width in question.
Comparing Against the F500x2A
The F500x2A is the other dual-UVA option in this intensity class, delivering higher peak irradiance per head (590 mW/cm² versus the F400x2A’s 490) but lower total dose per pass (2,960 mJ/cm² versus 5,260 at 6 ft/min) due to its shorter aperture in the belt-travel direction. When total accumulated dose is what a formulation’s cure kinetics actually require, the F400x2A delivers more of it; when a photoinitiator system has a strict minimum-irradiance threshold rather than a total-dose target, the F500x2A’s higher peak output may be the better match despite the lower total-energy figure.
Power and Cooling
Like every F400/F500 configuration, the F400x2A requires forced-air cooling and exhaust ventilation for both lamp heads, running on 100–240V, 50/60Hz auto-ranging power input. The added thermal load of a second head is a real facility consideration on lines without existing high-capacity ventilation for F-series arc curing — worth confirming during a process review before committing to the two-head configuration.
For a full review, Contact Our Team.
Visit www.incurelab.com for more information.