A UV spotlamp on its own is not a curing station. Between the controller and a repeatable bond sit lightguides, tip accessories, fixtures, safety equipment, and measurement tools, and leaving one out is how stations end up rebuilt after launch.
Q: What Equipment Does a Complete UV Spotlamp Curing Station Need?
A: A Controller and Light Source, Lightguides, Tip Accessories, a Fixture, Containment, Eye Protection, and a Way to Measure Output
Each item answers a different question. The controller and source decide wavelength, intensity, and timing. Lightguides and terminators decide whether light reaches the bond. The fixture decides whether it reaches the same place every cycle. Containment and eyewear protect people, and a radiometer proves the process is still delivering its dose. For how the source itself works, see Incure’s UV LED spot curing system explainer.
1. Controller and Light Source
Choose the source family first, since everything downstream depends on it.
- LED: the Incure L9000™ is factory-set to one wavelength (365, 375, 385, 395, or 405 nm), fires at full output with no warm-up, and is rated for 15,000 hours with less than 20% intensity decay. It offers a 0.1–999.9 second timer, 10–100% intensity adjustment, and PLC triggering over RS-232. The L9000-BASE controller is available without a guide for pairing with existing tooling.
- Mercury arc: the Incure S20™ arc spot lamp emits from 275 to 650 nm at more than 21 W/cm² at the guide tip, with a 1–99 second timer and 25–100% intensity. It needs 1 to 2 minutes to warm up, and it is ordered for either 100–120 VAC or 200–240 VAC input.
2. Lightguides
The guide carries light from the source to the part, and its length must suit the fixture.
- L9000™ guides: the Cool Guide (24 mm cube head with an integrated fan, 83 mm total length) for confined fixtures, the Short Guide (66 mm) for bench and semi-automated work, and the Long Guide (118 mm) for deep-reach positions. Up to four guides run from one controller.
- S20™ guides: liquid lightguides in 1-, 2-, 3-, or 4-pole configurations, each pole adding a simultaneous cure point.
Incure’s article on what a light guide does in a spot lamp system explains how guide choice affects what reaches the bond.
3. Tip Accessories
When the bond face does not line up with the guide’s approach direction, a terminator redirects the beam. Incure’s LGT-Series™ terminators come in 90° (LGT-90-5, LGT-90-8) and 60° (LGT-60-5, LGT-60-8) versions, with Ø5 mm or Ø8 mm apertures matched to the guide core. They fit Incure’s LLG-1P-5 and LLG-1P-8 liquid lightguides and compatible LED fiber guides, in a machined aluminum body built to stay on the tip through continuous use.
4. Fixtures and Guide Mounts
The fixture is part of the cure specification. On the L9000™, irradiance falls from 7,500 mW/cm² at a 9 mm focal point to 223 mW/cm² at 30 mm, so the guide mount must hold its distance precisely and keep it after maintenance. Design in:
- A rigid, keyed guide holder that cannot slide along its axis
- A part nest that locates every part identically
- Room to remove the guide for inspection and return it to the same position
- A matching position for a radiometer sensor
Email Us with your part drawing and bond locations, and Incure’s engineers can help define the guide positions and working distances for your fixture.
5. Containment
Spot light is concentrated, but reflections and stray light can still reach the surroundings. Plan the containment around your specific layout: the fixture itself, a surrounding enclosure, or both.
Note that Incure’s Perimeter™ shields are built for F-Series™ flood lamp stands rather than spot lamps, and Incure’s B/C-Series™ chambers are matched to flood lamps. A spot station’s containment therefore usually comes from the fixture design and any enclosure built around it.
6. Eye Protection
Every operator near an active station needs certified eyewear. Incure’s Vison™ goggle blocks 99% of UV across UVA, UVB, and UVC, carries both ANSI Z87.1 and EN166 certification, and uses impact-resistant polycarbonate lenses in a wraparound frame. S20™ configurations that include a lightguide ship with safety goggles, but stock spares for every person who works at or near the station.
7. Measurement and Maintenance Tools
A station cannot prove its dose without measurement.
- Radiometer and jig: a meter whose spectral response covers your source, mounted in a jig at the real working distance.
- LS217™ lightguide simulator: for arc, xenon, and halogen spot lamps such as the S20™, using a Standard D (SMA-D) Ø5 mm connector. It does not fit LED spot lamps.
- Spare bulbs for arc systems: the S20™ uses the 282008 (100W) or 282068 (200W) bulb, depending on configuration. Mercury bulbs are commonly replaced every 1,000 to 2,000 hours and need about 30 minutes to cool before removal.
- A trend log recording every reading against its baseline.
Incure’s article on UV light guide degradation explains why guide checks belong on the schedule.
8. Controls and Documentation
Finish with the parts that keep the station consistent: a foot switch or PLC signal for triggering, a written work instruction listing wavelength, guide, distance, intensity, and time, and a log of every setting change.
Final Thoughts
A reliable spot curing station is a system, not a lamp. List every component before ordering, and the station that arrives will be the one the process needs. Contact Our Team to assemble a complete Incure spotlamp curing station for your application.
Visit www.incurelab.com for more information.