A UV conveyor can deliver exactly the right dose down the center of the belt and still under-cure parts riding near the edges. Belt motion evens out exposure along the direction of travel, but it does nothing for variation across the width — so that axis needs its own measurement.
Q: Is UV dose the same across the full width of a conveyor belt?
A: Not automatically — uniformity depends on the head’s footprint, its working distance, and where parts sit inside the rated width
Every lamp head has a pattern: stronger in some regions, weaker in others. As a part travels under the head, it passes through the whole pattern along the travel direction, so differences along that axis largely average out. A part riding near one edge, however, stays near that edge for the entire pass and sees only that edge’s output. Mapping dose across the width shows whether every lane of the belt delivers comparable energy.
What the Published Uniformity Figures Say
Uniformity is published as a ratio, where a higher value indicates more even irradiance. On the Incure CDM™ platform:
- F100, F200, F400 arc heads: 0.82 dynamic, 0.75 static at 2.0 inches.
- F500 arc heads: 0.81 dynamic, 0.74 static, reflecting the F500’s shorter, more concentrated aperture.
- L88 LED flood head: 0.89 dynamic at 2 inches, from 576 LEDs spread across its 8″ × 8″ footprint — the same uniformity specification as the smaller L64.
- M-Series focused-beam heads: the standalone M-Series line rates static uniformity across the beam at 0.78 at 2 inches and 0.62 at 3 inches.
Two lessons follow. Dynamic figures, taken with the belt moving, are higher than static ones because travel averages the pattern along one axis. And uniformity changes with distance: for the M-Series, moving closer raises intensity but narrows uniformity, while moving farther broadens the footprint slightly and reduces intensity.
Width Limits Matter as Much as Ratios
A uniformity figure applies inside the head’s rated part width, not across the whole 9-inch belt. Maximum part width on the CDM™ is 1 inch on the M51, 2 inches on the M62, 4 inches on the L64, 8 inches on the L88, F100, and F200, and 5 inches on F400/F500. A part, or a row of parts, extending beyond that width moves into a region the uniformity figure never described. The M62 is designed for this concern within its strip: its 108 LEDs hold 3,100 mW/cm² at 365 nm across the full 2-inch depth with no edge falloff.
Email Us with your part layout across the belt and Incure can check it against the head’s rated width and uniformity.
How to Map Your Own Belt
Published ratios are a starting point; your setup — curing height, carriers, reflective surroundings — changes the result. A simple mapping routine:
- Set the production curing height and belt speed.
- Choose measurement positions across the width where parts actually ride — at least the center, both outer lanes, and any lane in between.
- Pass a dose-measuring radiometer through at each position, keeping the probe at the bond height of a real part.
- Repeat each position more than once to separate real variation from measurement scatter.
- Express each reading as a fraction of the highest one.
Consider a hypothetical map with readings of 2,600, 2,500, and 2,150 mJ/cm² at the center, one side, and the far edge. Dividing by the highest gives 1.00, 0.96, and 0.83. If the adhesive requires 2,300 mJ/cm², the far-edge lane fails while the others pass — the fix is moving parts inward or slowing the belt, not a lamp change.
Common Causes of Edge Under-Cure
- Parts outside the rated width. The most frequent cause, and the cheapest to fix by re-pitching parts.
- Curing height outside the qualified value. Distance shifts both intensity and uniformity.
- Unequal heads on an x2A configuration. If one of two series heads is aged and the other new, the combined pattern changes; replace both on the same cycle.
- Part height variation. Taller parts in one lane sit closer to the lamp than shorter parts in another.
Recording the Result
Store the map with the lamp hours at the time of measurement and repeat it on a schedule. LED heads are rated beyond 20,000 hours with 20% or less decay; arc heads beyond 1,000 hours with up to 45% decay. A weakening edge lane often shows up in a repeated map before it shows up as rejected parts.
Configuration data, part widths, and curing heights are in the Incure CDM™ UV conveyor guide. The LED flood array behind the L64 and L88 is covered in the Incure L-Series™ LED flood lamp guide, and the general overview is in the curing conveyor industrial guide.
Contact Our Team to plan a uniformity map for your UV conveyor.
Visit www.incurelab.com for more information.