UV Curing calculator
UV Cure Validation Sample Size Calculator
How many parts you pull for cure verification (rub test, dose witness, MEK rub, microhardness) drives both validation cost and detection capability. This calculator turns production volume per shift, your sampling rate (samples per X parts), and an inspection efficiency factor into a defensible per-validation sample size — the kind of number that holds up in a PPAP submission or a customer audit.
What this calculator does
- Size a UV cure validation pull (samples per shift / lot) from production volume, sampling rate, and an inspection efficiency factor.
- Use it during PPAP, IQ/OQ/PQ, or routine production-validation planning to pick a defensible sample size for cure verification.
- Returns the recommended UV cure validation sample size per shift / lot from production volume, sampling rate, and inspection efficiency.
Formula used
- Raw samples = production volume × sampling rate ÷ 1,000
- Recommended sample pull = raw samples ÷ inspection efficiency
Inputs explained
- Production volume per shift: Good cured parts produced per shift on the line being validated.
- Sampling rate: Per-1,000 sampling: 5 = 0.5%, 10 = 1%, 20 = 2%; tighter for new SKUs and PPAP.
- Inspection efficiency: % of pulled samples that yield a usable test result; 85–95% is typical.
How to use the result
- Use it during PPAP submission planning, IQ/OQ/PQ validation work for a new line, and quarterly recalibration of routine cure-verification sampling cadence.
- Sample sizing only — doesn't pick the test method (MEK rub, dose witness, microhardness, FTIR). Statistical defensibility depends on the test method's discrimination, not just the sample count. For low-defect-rate lines, AQL-style attribute sampling (with a customer-agreed AQL) often beats a simple per-thousand rule.
Common questions
- What sampling rate is defensible for PPAP? Customer-driven, but 10–30 samples per 1,000 (1–3%) is common for initial PPAP and IQ/OQ/PQ. Drop to 1–5 per 1,000 (0.1–0.5%) for ongoing production once the process is in control. Highly regulated industries (medical, aerospace) often specify a fixed AQL with a published sampling table — follow that, not a generic rate.
- Why include inspection efficiency? Some pulled samples don't yield a usable test result — wrong location, broken during prep, scope contamination, missing dose witness. The efficiency adjustment grows the pull so the inspection actually returns the planned number of usable results.
- Per shift or per lot? Either works as long as the unit on the answer matches the unit on the production-volume input. For continuous production, per-shift is standard. For batch production, per-lot is more meaningful and the production-volume input becomes parts per lot.
- What test methods complement sampling? Per-pulled-sample: MEK / solvent rub (cure depth and surface), tape adhesion (interfacial cure), microhardness (cure profile through depth). Continuous: dose-strip witness placed periodically through production. Use both — periodic in-depth tests on samples and continuous dose-strip surveillance.
Last reviewed 2026-05-12.