UV Curing worked example

UV Dose Margin at 23% minimum acceptable process margin: a worked example

What does the result look like when minimum acceptable process margin reaches 23%? The full calculation is worked below with real intermediate numbers. Use it after a radiometer pass to decide whether a line can keep running until the next scheduled lamp service or whether a setpoint change is needed now.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Required cure dose from datasheet: 1,200 mJ / cm² (unchanged)
  • Measured dose at part surface: 1,560 mJ / cm² (unchanged)
  • Minimum acceptable process margin: 23 % (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 20)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Margin (%) = (measured dose ÷ required dose) − 100%) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 76.92 % of target for dose margin, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns -53.92 points for headroom vs minimum margin.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 1,200 mJ / cm² for required dose.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 1,560 mJ / cm² for measured dose.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where minimum acceptable process margin sits at 20% and the headline result is 76.92 % of target, this scenario lands almost exactly on the baseline at 76.92 % of target.
  • A figure at this level is achievable when minimum acceptable process margin is genuinely sustained, not just peaked for a shift. Margin only reflects total energy — it does not catch spectral drift, peak-irradiance shortfalls for depth cure, or oxygen inhibition, so a positive margin is necessary but not always sufficient for full cure.

Results at a glance

  • Dose margin: 76.92 % of target (headline result)
  • Headroom vs minimum margin: -53.92 points
  • Required dose: 1,200 mJ / cm²
  • Measured dose: 1,560 mJ / cm²

Run it with your numbers

  • Every input above is editable in the live UV Dose Margin calculator, which recalculates instantly and can be shared with the inputs intact.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.