Automating a cure step does not automatically mean buying a UV curing conveyor. An enclosed batch chamber is also a controlled, repeatable cure, and for many products it is the better fit. The choice depends on how parts arrive, how many there are, and how the process has to be controlled.
Q: When should you choose a UV curing conveyor instead of a batch cure chamber?
A: Choose a conveyor when parts arrive continuously from an upstream station, when volume is high enough that loading and unloading a chamber becomes the bottleneck, and when dose can be set by belt speed. Choose a chamber when parts arrive in trays or small batches, when the product mix changes often, or when a part needs a fixed exposure time and a fully enclosed cure.
How Each One Controls Dose
The two formats reach the same goal by different routes.
- Conveyor. Dose is set by belt speed. On Incure’s CDM™, the belt adjusts from 1.5 to 12.0 ft/min, and slowing it raises dose in proportion. Every part on the belt sees the same exposure as it passes under the lamp head.
- Chamber. Dose is set by exposure time and the curing distance fixed by the shelf position. Incure’s B-Series™ chambers house mercury-arc flood lamps and the C-Series™ chambers house LED flood lamps, with adjustable shelves on several models to set curing distance.
Neither is inherently more accurate. A conveyor guarantees identical exposure for parts in a stream; a chamber guarantees identical exposure for each loaded batch.
Five Questions That Usually Decide It
- How do parts arrive? A steady stream from a dispenser or robot favors a conveyor that can sit directly downstream. Trays carried from a bench favor a chamber.
- What is the volume? At low volume, a chamber’s load-cure-unload cycle is not a constraint. As volume climbs, that handling time becomes the limit, and a conveyor removes it by curing while parts move.
- How often does the product change? A chamber handles very different parts one batch after another. A conveyor handles a mix too, but each product needs its own speed and height recipe, and a part outside the lamp head’s width needs a different head.
- How large are the parts? The CDM™ belt is 9 inches wide, and each lamp head limits usable width — from 1 inch on the M51 up to 8 inches on the L88, F100, and F200. Chamber models are sized by internal volume instead; the B500, for example, offers a 9″ × 9″ × 10.4″ working volume.
- What control does the line need? CDM™ LED heads accept PLC, RS-232, and foot-switch inputs; arc heads on the conveyor are speed-control only. B-Series chambers accept PC, PLC, and foot-pedal input, and C-Series chambers accept foot-switch, PLC, and RS-232 signals.
Email Us with your part size, volume, and how parts reach the cure step, and Incure can recommend a conveyor or chamber configuration.
Containment and Operator Exposure
A chamber encloses the cure. Incure’s B-Series uses an auto-shutter door interlock, and the C-Series uses a drawer-activated shut-off, so opening the enclosure stops UV from reaching the operator. A conveyor has open entry and exit points by design, so containment depends on the lamp housing, the part clearance, and the shielding around the openings. Lines that cannot accept any exposure risk at the loading point often favor a chamber for that reason alone.
Lamp Technology Carries Over
Both formats use the same lamp families. The C-Series chambers pair with the L-Series™ LED flood lamps, and the B-Series chambers pair with the F-Series™ arc lamps; the CDM™ conveyor accepts LED flood, LED focused-beam, and arc heads. The adhesive’s wavelength and spectrum requirement therefore narrows the lamp first, and the conveyor-or-chamber decision follows.
A Common Path: Chamber First, Conveyor Later
Many processes start in a chamber during development and low-volume production, then move to a conveyor once volume and line layout justify it. Two cautions apply when making that move:
- Requalify the cure. Exposure on a conveyor is set by speed and illuminated length, not by a timer, so the qualified dose must be translated into a belt speed and confirmed with a radiometer.
- Keep the wavelength. If the chamber process ran on a specific LED wavelength, specify the conveyor head at the same wavelength to avoid repeating qualification.
Running Both
Some facilities use both: a conveyor for the high-volume product and a chamber for samples, rework, and low-volume variants. That keeps the conveyor running one recipe for long periods while the chamber absorbs the variety.
For the conveyor side, see the industrial guide to curing conveyors and the CDM™ lamp-head guide. For the chamber side, the Incure B/C-Series™ cure chamber guide covers each model’s volume and lamp pairing.
Contact Our Team to decide between a conveyor and a chamber for your process.
Visit www.incurelab.com for more information.