The UV Adhesive Cure Wavelength Report
We read the manufacturer datasheets for 110 named UV and light-cure adhesives across 12 brands and recorded the wavelength each one cures at. Here is what the data says about how modern UV adhesives actually cure, and what it means for choosing a spot curing source. Every figure below is reproducible from our open dataset.
Which wavelength do UV adhesives cure at?
Share of the 110 adhesives whose published absorption includes each common LED line. Most modern adhesives are formulated for the long-UVA lines an LED can reach, but a meaningful minority still call for broadband output.
Arc or LED: what the chemistry actually needs
Categories overlap: an adhesive that cures at 365 nm is counted under every system that reaches 365 nm. 95% cure on any of the three systems, while 1% are broadband or short-UV grades only the arc lamp covers.
Coverage by manufacturer
| Manufacturer | Adhesives analyzed |
|---|---|
| Dymax | 29 |
| Norland | 19 |
| Panacol | 17 |
| Loctite | 15 |
| Master Bond | 11 |
| Permabond | 6 |
| DELO | 6 |
| Loxeal | 3 |
| 3M | 1 |
| ThreeBond | 1 |
| Born2Bond | 1 |
| Cyberbond | 1 |
What this means for buyers
- 365 nm is the workhorse. 95% of these adhesives cure at 365 nm, so any 365 nm source (arc or LED) covers most of the market.
- LED is enough for most, but not all. 90% can be cured by an LED system, yet 1% still need the broadband or short-UV output only an arc lamp like the SunSpot 2 delivers, do not assume LED before checking the datasheet.
- Datasheets are inconsistent on dose. Only 43% of these products publish a specific dose figure, the rest give a wavelength but leave you to qualify the exposure on your parts.
Method & how to cite
Each adhesive's cure wavelength was transcribed from its manufacturer technical data sheet and matched to published UV system output ranges (arc 275–650 nm; LED lines 365/385/395/405 nm). This is a wavelength spec match, not a cure guarantee. Data captured Jul 2026; the full per-product dataset is free under CC BY 4.0.
UV Spot Shop, "The UV Adhesive Cure Wavelength Report," Jul 2026. https://uvspotshop.com/uv-adhesive-cure-report
