Incure Content Team, Author at INCURE INC.

UV Cure Potting Compounds: A Guide to Precision Assembly

Potting protects delicate electronics by encasing them in a solid resin, but conventional epoxy potting can tie up a part for hours while it cures. UV cure potting compounds gel in seconds under ultraviolet light, letting a line pot, inspect, and pack in one continuous flow instead of parking trays of work in an oven. How UV Potting Differs A UV cure potting compound is a single-component resin that stays liquid until it absorbs enough ultraviolet energy, then crosslinks rapidly. Compared with two-part epoxy potting, it removes the mixing step, the pot-life clock, and the long thermal cure. Many formulations are also water-clear after cure, so components stay visible for inspection and rework decisions. What Potting Provides Mechanical protection: A rigid or semi-rigid shell resists vibration, shock, and handling damage. Environmental sealing: The cured mass blocks moisture, dust, and airborne contaminants. Electrical insulation: Good dielectric strength prevents tracking and short circuits between closely spaced conductors. Strain relief: Encapsulation supports wire terminations and component leads against fatigue. The Shadow-Cure Limitation UV energy only reaches what the light can see. In a potted assembly, resin under a component or deep in a cavity sits in shadow and will not cure by UV alone. Formulations address this with a secondary cure mechanism, usually heat or ambient moisture, that finishes the shadowed resin after the UV pass fixes the exposed surface. Confirm which mechanism a compound uses before designing the process around it. Selecting a UV Potting Compound Viscosity: Low viscosity flows around fine-pitch components and self-levels; higher viscosity stays put on a vertical or open edge. Match it to the dispense equipment and the cavity geometry. Clarity: Choose a clear grade where post-pot inspection matters; pigmented grades hide the assembly but improve UV blocking above the potted layer. Cure depth and secondary cure: Verify the compound can through-cure your deepest section, with a heat or moisture stage for shadowed resin. Thermal expansion: A large coefficient of thermal expansion mismatch between the cured resin and the substrate drives stress on temperature cycling; a lower-modulus grade absorbs it. Service temperature: Confirm the cured resin holds properties across the assembly's operating range. Shrinkage and Stress on Components All acrylate chemistry shrinks as it crosslinks, typically a few percent by volume. In a potted assembly that shrinkage pulls on the components and the cavity walls. On fine wire bonds, unsupported crystals, or pressure-sensitive sensors, the load can shift calibration or cause intermittent failures that only appear after temperature cycling. Lower-shrinkage grades, a lower-modulus cured resin, or a staged cure that lets the resin relax all reduce the effect. Where a component is truly stress-sensitive, a soft silicone gel barrier under a rigid pot is the conservative design. Getting the Dose Into the Depth A thin coating cures with a modest dose; a 5 mm pot needs far more, because the resin near the surface absorbs UV and shades the resin below it. Pigmented or filled grades make this worse. Practical steps: use a grade rated for your…

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July 18, 2024

UV Curing Equipments / UV LED Equipments / UV LED Spot Equipments

UV Curing Conveyor Throughput — Parts-per-Shift Math for High-Volume Production

A UV curing conveyor's capacity is not a brochure number. It is a short calculation built from belt speed, part pitch, and the hours a line actually runs, and doing it before purchase shows whether the cure station or something else sets your output ceiling. Q: How many parts per shift can a UV curing conveyor process? A: Parts per hour equals belt speed (inches per minute) divided by part pitch (the center-to-center spacing of parts along the belt), multiplied by 60, then multiplied by the number of parts across the belt width. Multiply by productive hours per shift for the shift total. The cure dose required by the adhesive then caps how fast the belt can run. Step 1: Fix the Belt-Speed Ceiling From Dose Throughput math must start from cure, because the belt can only run as fast as the adhesive allows. On Incure's CDM™ conveyor the belt adjusts from 1.5 to 12.0 ft/min, but the usable top speed is whichever speed still delivers the required dose with the chosen lamp head. Published figures show how much this varies. At 12 ft/min the M51 focused-beam head still delivers 12,813 mJ/cm² UVA, while the single-assembly F100x2AC arc head delivers 1,050 mJ/cm² UVA at only 6 ft/min. If a process needs 2,000 mJ/cm², the M51 can run at the platform's full 12 ft/min, but the F100x2AC cannot reach that dose even at 6 ft/min. The dual-head F100x2A, at 2,100 mJ/cm² UVA at 6 ft/min, just clears it. Step 2: Convert Speed to Parts per Hour Once the speed is fixed, the conversion is mechanical. As a hypothetical, consider parts loaded on a 4-inch pitch, one part across the belt: At 6 ft/min (72 in/min): 72 ÷ 4 = 18 parts per minute, or 1,080 per hour. At 12 ft/min (144 in/min): 36 parts per minute, or 2,160 per hour. At 3 ft/min (36 in/min): 9 parts per minute, or 540 per hour. Part pitch is set by part length plus the gap your loading method needs, not by part length alone. A robot that places parts on a fixed index, or a fixture plate that holds several parts, will each give a different effective pitch. Step 3: Use the Belt Width The CDM™ uses a 9-inch belt, and each lamp head has its own maximum part width: 1 inch on the M51, 2 inches on the M62, 4 inches on the L64, 5 inches on the F400/F500 heads, and 8 inches on the L88, F100, and F200 heads. Small parts can run more than one across if every lane falls inside the head's usable width. Continuing the hypothetical: parts 1.5 inches wide on an L88 head (8-inch usable width) could run in multiple lanes across the belt. Three lanes at 4-inch pitch and 6 ft/min triples the earlier figure to 3,240 parts per hour. The same parts under an M51 cannot run side by side at all, because its cured zone is 1 inch wide. Step 4: Apply Real Shift…

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June 11, 2024

UV Curing Equipments / UV LED Equipments / UV LED Spot Equipments

Incure S20 UV Arc Spot Lamp for High-Intensity Industrial Curing

Fast lines and thick, pigmented adhesives both demand high ultraviolet intensity at the bond. The Incure S20 is a mercury arc spot curing lamp that delivers more than 21 W/cm² at the light guide tip across a broad spectrum, giving industrial processes the energy to cure difficult chemistry in short cycle times. What the S20 Is The S20 is a compact arc spot lamp that focuses a broadband output, roughly 275–650 nm, into a light guide that carries the energy to the work. The wide spectrum reaches photoinitiators that narrow-band LED sources miss, and an adjustable intensity control lets an operator trim output from full power down to a level that suits heat-sensitive substrates. Why Broadband Intensity Helps Pigmented and filled adhesives: Colorants and fillers absorb and scatter UV. Broadband high intensity drives enough energy through to cure the full depth. Thick sections: A deep bond line needs energy delivered past the surface layer; peak intensity extends the effective cure depth. Shadowed geometry: Higher tip irradiance tolerates the loss from an oblique or partly obstructed light path. Short cycle times: More irradiance means less exposure time to reach the same dose. Dose and the Light Guide The energy the adhesive absorbs is tip irradiance in W/cm² multiplied by exposure seconds. Tip irradiance depends on guide diameter, length, working distance, and guide age. Because the S20 runs at high intensity, guide condition matters: a discolored or damaged guide can drop delivered energy well below the recipe target. Fix the working distance with a holder and verify tip irradiance with a band-matched radiometer on a schedule. Selecting and Operating the S20 Guide diameter: Larger cores carry more total energy; smaller cores concentrate it on tiny features. Intensity setting: Run only as hot as the substrate tolerates to limit heat and fuming. Ventilation: High-intensity arc output can warm the work zone; provide exhaust where needed. Bulb life: Replace the arc bulb at its rated hours; output and spectrum both shift near end of life. Operator protection: UV-blocking eyewear and a contained light path are mandatory. Cure Depth in Pigmented and Filled Adhesives Depth of cure falls as the adhesive's opacity rises. A clear adhesive may through-cure several millimeters in one exposure; the same chemistry loaded with pigment or filler may cure only a fraction of that. Broadband arc output helps because the longer wavelengths in the spectrum penetrate further than the short ones that cure the surface. Even so, verify depth on a representative sample: cure a test bond, section it, and check that the resin at the far interface has hardened, not just the surface skin. Managing the Exotherm High intensity into a thick bond can drive an exotherm that spikes the local temperature. On sensitive substrates or large masses this can distort the part or stress the joint. Where it shows up, step the exposure, a lower-intensity pre-gel followed by full-intensity cure, or reduce the intensity setting and lengthen the exposure to reach the same dose at a lower peak temperature.…

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June 11, 2024

UV Curing Equipments / UV LED Equipments / UV LED Spot Equipments

High-Intensity UV Spot Lamps: Compact Power for Precise Curing

When a bond is small, buried, or surrounded by parts that must not see ultraviolet light, a spot lamp is the right tool. A high-intensity UV spot lamp concentrates energy through a light guide onto a point a few millimeters across, curing adhesives in seconds without flooding the whole assembly. Arc and LED Spot Lamps Two technologies dominate spot curing: Mercury arc spot lamps produce a broadband output from roughly 240–450 nm at very high intensity at the guide tip. The wide spectrum cures pigmented and shadowed bonds well. The trade-offs are a warm-up period, a bulb life on the order of 2,000 hours, and consumable reflectors and filters. UV LED spot lamps emit a narrow band at 365, 385, or 405 nm, switch on instantly, run cool, and last beyond 20,000 hours. They are the better fit where the chemistry matches an available band and heat must be kept low. Incure offers both: the S20 UV arc spot lamp for broadband high intensity and the L9000 UV LED spot lamp for narrow-band, low-heat curing. Dose at the Guide Tip The energy an adhesive absorbs equals irradiance at the guide tip in mW/cm² multiplied by exposure time. Tip irradiance depends on guide diameter, guide length, working distance, and guide condition. A short, large-core guide held close delivers the highest energy; a long, thin guide trades intensity for reach. Fix the tip-to-part gap with a holder so the dose repeats. Selecting a Spot Lamp Spectrum or wavelength: Broadband arc for pigmented or shadowed bonds; matched LED band for clear or thin-section work. Intensity: Enough tip irradiance to cure within the cycle time, with headroom for source aging. Guide count: Single guide for one point; multi-guide heads for several cure points on one part. Working distance and access: The guide must reach the bond without fouling adjacent parts. Consumables: For arc lamps, factor in bulb, reflector, and filter replacement intervals. Total Cost of an Arc Spot Lamp An arc spot lamp's running cost is more than the bulb. Over a year of single-shift use, plan for two or more bulb changes, periodic reflector replacement, and light-guide replacement as transmission falls. Each bulb change also needs a re-verification of tip irradiance and often a small recipe adjustment. An LED spot lamp removes the bulb and reflector consumables entirely and shifts the only wear item to the guide, which is common to both technologies. Where the chemistry allows an LED band, that difference compounds over the equipment life. Matching Guide Diameter to the Feature Guides commonly range from about 3 mm to 12 mm core diameter. A 3 mm guide concentrates energy onto a single small joint and fits into crowded assemblies; an 8 mm or larger guide covers a wider fillet or a cluster of close pins in one exposure but needs more standoff to avoid a hot center with a weak edge. Choose the smallest guide that covers the bond in one shot. Curing in Shadowed Geometry When part of the bond…

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June 11, 2024

UV Curing Equipments / UV LED Equipments / UV LED Spot Equipments

Incure L9000™ UV LED Spot Lamp Commissioning — A First-Day Setup SOP

A new UV spot lamp earns its keep on day one only if the setup is written down. The steps below turn an Incure L9000™ arriving on the bench into a documented, repeatable cure station before the first production part runs. Q: What Should Be Done Before an L9000™ Cures Its First Production Part? A: Verify the Configuration, Fix the Standoff, Record a Radiometer Baseline, Lock the Recipe, and File the Records Commissioning has five stages, in that order. Skipping the baseline reading is the most common gap, because without it there is nothing to compare against months later when cure quality is questioned. Stage 1: Receiving Inspection Start by confirming the unit matches the order. Check these items against the purchase record: Wavelength. Each L9000™ is factory-configured to one of 365, 375, 385, 395, or 405 nm. Confirm the label matches the wavelength your adhesive needs, since it cannot be changed on the floor. Configuration. L9000-BASE ships without a guide for pairing with existing tooling. L9000-CG is the Cool Guide with a 24 mm cube head, integrated fan, and 83 mm total length. L9000-SG uses a 66 mm guide, and L9000-LG extends to 118 mm. Guide count. Up to four independent lightguides can run from one controller. Count what arrived against what the fixture needs. Inspect each guide tip for scratches or residue before installation, and note its serial or lot marking in the log. Stage 2: Guide Installation and Routing Seat each guide fully in its port, then route it to the fixture without kinks, twists, or pinch points from moving tooling. Follow the guide's stated minimum bend radius and secure the run with clips rather than tape, so the path cannot shift between shifts. For confined fixtures where heat transfer to the assembly is a concern, the Cool Guide's fan-cooled head is the configuration designed for that case. For deep positions inside a fixture, the Long Guide's 118 mm reach is the option to confirm. The trade-offs between these geometries are covered in the L9000™ lightguide and working-distance guide. Stage 3: Setting the Fixture Standoff Standoff is the gap between guide tip and bond line, and it sets both intensity and spot size. On the L9000™, irradiance at the focal point is 7,500 mW/cm² at 9 mm, 5,000 mW/cm² at 10 mm, 2,300 mW/cm² at 17 mm, 1,200 mW/cm² at 20 mm, and 223 mW/cm² at 30 mm. Spot diameter runs from 3 mm to 12 mm across that 9–30 mm range. Pick the standoff from the bond footprint and required dose, then build it into hardware: a holder with a hard stop, a pinned bracket, or a machined spacer. Measure the installed gap with a gauge and record the actual value, not the drawing value. Stage 4: Recording the Radiometer Baseline With the guide fixed at the production standoff, measure irradiance at the bond plane using a radiometer matched to your wavelength. Record for each guide: The reading at 100% intensity. The reading at the intensity…

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June 11, 2024

UV Curing Equipments / UV LED Equipments / UV LED Spot Equipments

High-Power UV LED Curing for Industrial Use

An industrial curing station runs thousands of cycles a day, integrates with a line controller, and cannot stop for lamp changes mid-shift. High-power UV LED curing equipment is suited to that duty because it switches instantly, holds a stable output over tens of thousands of hours, and exposes a defined field to a repeatable dose every cycle. What "Industrial Duty" Requires Continuous operation: The head must be rated for back-to-back cycles with active cooling, not intermittent bench use. Line integration: PLC or line-controller I/O lets the cure step handshake with upstream dispensing and downstream inspection. Stable, documented output: Cure becomes a process parameter that can be logged and audited, not an operator judgment. Predictable service intervals: Gradual, even output decline means lamp replacement is scheduled, not reactive. Dose Control on an Automated Line The energy a coating absorbs is its UV dose: irradiance in mW/cm² multiplied by exposure time. On an automated station the exposure time is fixed by cycle time, so the lamp must supply enough irradiance to reach the target dose within that window, with headroom for output decline over the lamp's life. Build the recipe from the material datasheet, verify it with a band-matched radiometer at the part plane, and confirm cure with hardness or pull testing. Specifying Industrial LED Curing Field size: Cover the full cured area or batch fixture in one exposure, within roughly 10–15 percent edge falloff. Wavelength: Match the photoinitiator, commonly 365, 385, or 405 nm. Irradiance headroom: Above the target dose divided by cycle-time exposure. Cooling: Rated for the station's duty cycle and ambient temperature. Control interface: Footswitch for manual cells, PLC handshake for automated lines. Integration form factor: Fixed mount over a conveyor or inside a chamber. Incure's L-Series UV LED flood lamps are built for fixed-station duty, the CDM UV conveyor carries LED heads over a moving belt, and B/C-Series cure chambers enclose the process for operator safety and dose consistency. Designing the Cure Station Into the Line A cure step that stalls the line is worse than a slow one. Size the station so its exposure time fits inside the line's takt time with margin, and give it a bypass or buffer so a lamp fault does not immediately stop upstream work. Where cycle time is tight, two lamp heads in series each delivering half the dose let the belt run twice as fast as a single head would allow. Fault Detection and Response An industrial cure station should detect and report at least three conditions: measured output below the dose threshold, over-temperature at the head, and a missing part-present signal during a commanded exposure. Tie the first to a line stop or a reject-diverter so under-cured parts never reach assembly. Log every fault with a timestamp so recurring problems, a marginal cooling fan or a lamp nearing end of life, show up as a pattern rather than a surprise. Maintenance Access Position the head so the emitting window can be wiped and the array inspected without removing guarding…

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June 11, 2024

UV Curing Equipments / UV LED Equipments / UV LED Spot Equipments

UV LED Flood Lamp Wavelength — Choosing 365, 385, 395, or 405 nm Before You Order

The wavelength on a UV LED flood lamp is the one specification that cannot be corrected after installation, which makes it the decision most worth slowing down for. Get it right on paper first, and every later choice gets easier. Q: Which wavelength should a UV LED flood lamp use? A: The wavelength that falls inside the photoinitiator absorption range stated on the adhesive or coating's technical data sheet. Incure's L-Series™ and W-Series™ flood lamps are each offered in 365, 385, 395, or 405 nm, and each unit ships factory-configured to one of them. If a line runs several materials, the chosen wavelength has to suit all of them, or the line needs more than one lamp. Why the Choice Is Permanent Unlike a mercury-arc flood lamp, whose bulb emits a broad spectrum, an LED flood lamp emits a single narrow band set by the diodes in its array. Incure configures that band at the factory. There is no field switch and no swappable filter, so a lamp ordered at 395 nm stays a 395 nm lamp. A wavelength mismatch discovered during qualification means replacing the unit, not adjusting it. A Four-Step Wavelength Decision Read the data sheet for every material the lamp will cure, not just the first one. Note the stated cure wavelength or range and the required dose. Find the overlap. If every material lists a range that includes, for example, 385 nm, one lamp serves the whole line. Check intensity at that wavelength. Intensity is not uniform across the four options. On L88 through L1414, the 365 nm version runs measurably lower than the 385, 395, and 405 nm versions. On the W-Series™, the pattern reverses: W44 and W1212 read higher at 365 nm. Confirm with a cured sample at the chosen wavelength and production working distance before the order is final. Email Us with the data sheets for every material on your line, and Incure's engineers can identify which wavelength, if any, covers all of them. Same Model, Different Wavelength, Different Exposure Time Because intensity shifts with wavelength on several models, the same material can need a different exposure time on two lamps with identical curing areas. Consider a hypothetical material that cures at both 365 nm and 395 nm. If one wavelength version of a lamp delivers 20 percent less irradiance than the other, the exposure needed for the same dose rises by a factor of 1 ÷ 0.8, or 25 percent. The 20 percent figure here is illustrative; take the real intensity for each wavelength from the model's specification sheet and recalculate the cure schedule rather than reusing one written for another wavelength. Mixed-Material Lines When no single wavelength suits every material, there are three workable paths: Standardize materials around one wavelength during process development, so one lamp serves the line. Dedicate lamps — one L-Series™ unit per wavelength, each at its own station. Every model accepts foot-switch, PLC, and RS232 inputs, so multiple lamps can share one control scheme. Use broadband exposure…

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June 11, 2024

UV Curing Equipments / UV LED Equipments / UV LED Spot Equipments

Choosing an L-Series™ UV LED Flood Lamp by Curing Area — A Model-by-Model Walkthrough

Picking a UV LED flood lamp for a large part usually starts with one question — which model's curing field actually covers the footprint — and the answer changes the intensity, the chamber, and the exposure time that follow. Q: How do you choose an L-Series™ model for a large curing area? A: Start from the largest footprint that must cure in one exposure, select the smallest L-Series™ curing field that fully contains it, then confirm that model's intensity delivers the material's required dose within the available cycle time. If it doesn't, either step to a smaller field and index the part, or move to the water-cooled W-Series™ at the same area. The Nine Curing Fields, in Square Inches Converting each model's field to area makes the comparison easier, because parts are rarely square. All intensities below are Incure's published figures at a 2-inch working distance. Model Field Area (in²) Intensity (mW/cm²) L11 1″×1″ 1 4,300 L22 2″×2″ 4 4,300 L33 3″×3″ 9 3,100 L44 4″×4″ 16 3,100 L64 6″×4″ 24 1,900 L88 8″×8″ 64 1,900 L1010 10″×10″ 100 1,900 L1212 12″×12″ 144 1,900 L1414 14″×14″ 196 950 Two step changes stand out. Moving from L44 to L64 adds 8 in² of coverage and drops intensity from 3,100 to 1,900 mW/cm². Moving from L1212 to L1414 adds 52 in² and halves intensity from 1,900 to 950 mW/cm². Between L64 and L1212, coverage grows six-fold with no change in quoted intensity, which makes that band the efficient zone for mid-to-large parts. Fit the Shape, Not Just the Area Area alone can mislead. A 5″×2″ strip has 10 in² of area, which looks like an L33 job on paper, but it will not fit inside a 3″×3″ field. The deciding dimension is the longest side of the part. L64 is the only rectangular field in the line, which suits elongated parts such as long connector housings or narrow display strips that would waste most of a square field. Converting Intensity Into Exposure Time Dose equals irradiance multiplied by time, so the exposure needed scales inversely with the model's intensity. Consider a hypothetical material that requires 3,800 mJ/cm²: Under an L1212 at 1,900 mW/cm², the exposure is 3,800 ÷ 1,900 = 2 seconds. Under an L1414 at 950 mW/cm², the same dose takes 3,800 ÷ 950 = 4 seconds. Under an L44 at 3,100 mW/cm², it takes roughly 1.2 seconds, but only a 4″×4″ area is covered. The figure of 3,800 mJ/cm² is illustrative only; use the dose from your own material data sheet and verify it with a radiometer at the production working distance. Email Us with your part outline and required dose, and Incure's engineers can run the same calculation against every L-Series™ model before you commit. When to Index Instead of Covering in One Shot Covering the full part in a single exposure is not always the right call. If a part measures 13″×13″, an L1414 covers it in one shot at 950 mW/cm². An L1212 at 1,900 mW/cm² would…

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June 11, 2024

UV Curing Equipments / UV LED Equipments / UV LED Spot Equipments

High-Power UV LED Curing Lamps for Advanced Manufacturing

Manufacturers moving away from mercury arc lamps want the same cure speed with lower running cost. High-power UV LED curing lamps answer that by delivering concentrated narrow-band output, instant switching, and a service life measured in tens of thousands of hours instead of one or two thousand. Why UV LED Output Behaves Differently An LED head emits a narrow band centered at 365, 385, or 405 nm rather than the broad 240–420 nm spectrum of an arc lamp. All of the delivered energy sits near the photoinitiator's absorption peak, so less of it is wasted as heat or unusable wavelengths. That efficiency is the main reason LED curing lowers energy cost per cured part over the life of the equipment. Advantages for a Production Line Instant on/off: No warm-up and no idling between cycles, which cuts standby energy and lamp wear. Long service life: LED arrays hold usable output for well over 20,000 hours, reducing replacement labor and scheduled downtime. Low radiant heat: Narrow-band output adds little infrared load, so thin films and heat-sensitive plastics do not distort. Stable spectrum: Output wavelength does not drift with age the way an arc lamp's does, so cure stays predictable. Matching an LED Lamp to the Job Wavelength: Select the band the adhesive or coating photoinitiator absorbs. A 405 nm chemistry will cure slowly under a 365 nm head, and the mismatch wastes energy in the reverse direction. Irradiance and field size: Higher irradiance shortens exposure time but only matters if the uniform field covers the whole cured area. Ask for the irradiance map at your working distance. Working distance: Irradiance falls steeply with distance; fix the part-to-lens gap with a jig. Integration path: A head that works standalone on a bench should also mount over a conveyor or inside a chamber as volume grows. Incure's L-Series UV LED flood lamps span small to large fields, and the CDM conveyor platform accepts LED heads for inline curing. Cost per Cured Part, Not Just Purchase Price Comparing an LED head to an arc lamp on purchase price alone misses where the money goes over the equipment's life. An arc bulb replaced every 1,000–2,000 hours carries a recurring consumable cost plus the labor and downtime of each change. Arc lamps also draw power continuously through warm-up and idle periods because they cannot be switched on demand. An LED head runs only during the exposure, holds output past 20,000 hours, and needs no bulb inventory. On a line running multiple shifts, the running-cost difference usually outweighs the higher initial price within the first two years. Getting Full Value from Instant Switching Because an LED head has no warm-up, it can be gated to the part-present signal so it emits only while a part is in position. On a station cycling every few seconds, this cuts both energy use and the cumulative exposure hours that drive output decline. It also removes the shutter mechanism that arc systems need to block light between cycles, one less wear item.…

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June 11, 2024

UV Curing Equipments / UV LED Equipments / UV LED Spot Equipments

Large-Area UV Flood Curing With the Four-Lamp F900P — Layout, Throughput, and Enclosure Planning

When a single flood exposure has to cover a full panel, a tray of parts, or a conveyor lane, the lamp's field becomes the unit everything else is planned around. The Incure F900P is built for that scale, and getting value from it starts with laying out the work to fill its field. Q: What is the F900P used for? A: The F900P is the large-area model in Incure's F-Series™ of arc flood lamps. Four 600W metal halide lamps drive a 16″×12″ curing field at 350 mW/cm², with programmable control and a format that can be mounted on a conveyor. It suits full-panel curing, multi-part batch trays, and in-line flood curing where smaller fields would force parts to be indexed. How Much Bigger the Field Is The F900P's field is 16 × 12 = 192 square inches. The compact and portable F-Series™ models cover a 5″×5″ field, or 25 square inches, so the F900P covers about 7.7 times the area of an F500 in one exposure. Its per-point intensity is lower, 350 mW/cm² against the F500's 590, because four lamps' output is spread over a much larger field. That trade only works in the F900P's favor when the field is actually used. A single small part under a 192-square-inch field gets less intensity than it would under an F500, with no throughput benefit. Laying Out a Batch Tray The planning question is how many parts fit inside the field per cycle. Consider a hypothetical part with a 3″×2″ footprint, arranged with no spacing: Along the 16-inch side: 16 ÷ 3 = 5 parts, with 1 inch left over Along the 12-inch side: 12 ÷ 2 = 6 parts Per cycle: 5 × 6 = 30 parts Under a 5″×5″ field, the same part fits only 1 × 2 = 2 per exposure. In practice, leave clearance between parts and keep them back from the field edges, then confirm with a radiometer that the outer positions receive the required dose. The part dimensions here are illustrative; repeat the arithmetic with your own footprint and spacing. Exposure Time at Large Scale Dose equals irradiance multiplied by time. For a hypothetical material needing 2,100 mJ/cm², exposure under the F900P is 2,100 ÷ 350 = 6 seconds, curing every part in the tray at once. The same dose under an F500 takes about 3.6 seconds, but for only the parts that fit in 25 square inches. Divide each lamp's exposure time by its parts per cycle to compare throughput honestly. With the hypothetical 30-part tray above, the F900P spends 6 ÷ 30 = 0.2 seconds of exposure per part; the F500, curing two parts at a time, spends about 3.6 ÷ 2 = 1.8 seconds per part, before loading and handling time is counted on either. Email Us with your part footprint, tray layout, and required dose, and Incure's engineers can work out parts per cycle on the F900P against smaller flood models. Typical Large-Area Work Batch curing of conformal coatings, underfill encapsulants, and…

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June 11, 2024