German
Project Snapshot
| Industry | Display module assembly (touch panels and LCM) |
|---|---|
| Region | Central Europe (customer name withheld under NDA) |
| Application | OCA optical adhesive bonding of 7" to 15.6" touch panels |
| Equipment supplied | CG-CT5-400*50-2400A/C, 2400W water cooled UV LED curing lamp |
| Wavelength | 395nm (365 / 385 / 405nm available) |
| Commissioned | Q3 2026, three-shift production |
The Challenge
The customer runs a semi-automated OCA bonding cell for 7" to 15.6" touch panels. Their existing curing station used a 4kW mercury spot lamp mounted above a conveyor. Cycle time was 95 seconds per panel, and the cell could not be pushed faster: mercury lamps need a 3-minute warm-up, output drifts as the bulb ages, and the infrared load heated the OCA layer enough to cause edge bubbles on thin glass.
Three bottlenecks were costing the plant money every shift:
- Long, unpredictable cure cycles. Operators added buffer time to compensate for lamp ageing, so the cell ran at roughly 60% of its mechanical capability.
- Heat-driven defects. Edge bubbling and OCA yellowing pushed rework to 5.8%, with thin 0.4mm glass cover lenses hit hardest.
- Energy and maintenance load. The mercury lamp drew 4kW continuously plus extraction for ozone, and bulbs were replaced every 1,000 hours.
Why the CG-CT5 Was Selected
The engineering team specified four requirements: a 400mm wide curing field to cover the largest panel in one pass, stable irradiance above 15W/cm² at 30-50mm working distance, low thermal load on the OCA, and PLC-triggered instant on/off so the lamp only runs while a panel is present.
The CG-CT5 met all four. Its 400 × 50mm quartz-protected emitting window matches the panel width exactly, so a single lamp replaces the two heads previously needed on the wider models. Peak irradiance is 18W/cm² across the full aperture, dimmable from 0% to 100%.
| Parameter | Old mercury station | CG-CT5 2400W |
|---|---|---|
| Curing field | 2 heads, 2 × 200mm | 1 head, 400 × 50mm |
| Warm-up time | 180 seconds | Instant on/off |
| Heat on substrate | High IR load | Cold UV, water cooled |
| Lamp life | 1,000 hours | 20,000 hours |
| Dimming | Mechanical shutter only | 0-100% electronic |
How the Cell Was Configured
- Lamp mounted 40mm above the panel plane, angled to match the existing conveyor height, so no fixture redesign was needed.
- Chiller loop set to 6 L/min with 22°C inlet water; the plant reused its existing process chiller.
- PLC trigger wired to the panel-present sensor, giving one 55-second exposure per panel with no idle output between cycles.
- Intensity set to 85% for 0.4mm cover glass and 100% for 1.1mm glass, recalled as two recipes on the controller.
- AC85-265V input matched the plant's 400V three-phase supply through the supplied transformer without modification.
Measured Results After 90 Days
| Metric | Before (mercury) | After (CG-CT5) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cure cycle per panel | 95 s | 55 s | −42% |
| OCA bonding yield | 92.4% | 98.1% | +5.7 points |
| Rework rate | 5.8% | 1.4% | −76% |
| Energy per panel | 0.31 kWh | 0.19 kWh | −39% |
| Lamp replacement | Every 1,000 h | None in 90 days | — |
Because the lamp switches off between panels instead of idling, the largest saving came from duty cycle rather than peak power. The plant recovered the hardware cost in under five months on rework savings alone.
Customer Feedback
"The 400mm window means one lamp does what two heads used to do, and the OCA no longer sees the heat that was ruining our thin cover glass. We now set the recipe once per glass thickness and the cell repeats it all shift." — Process Engineering Manager
What This Means for Your Line
If your OCA, LOCA or optical bonding cell is limited by mercury warm-up, heat-driven bubbles or two-head alignment, a single wide-aperture water cooled UV LED lamp is usually the shortest upgrade path. The CG-CT5 is available in 395nm as standard, with 365nm, 385nm and 405nm options, a 2-year warranty on chiller and power supply, and CE / RoHS certification.
Tell us your panel size, adhesive type and target cycle time, and we will confirm the emitting window, irradiance setting and chiller requirement for your station.