Suppliers list cure as a time at part metal temperature, such as 10 minutes at 400 F or 20 minutes at 350 F, often as a curve or window of acceptable combinations. Clock time starts once the metal reaches temperature. Heavy castings and thick sections take much longer to come up than sheet metal, so the oven setting must be chosen by profiling real parts.
Cure schedule is ten at 400 metal temp, and those castings don't hit 400 until minute twelve.
Oven setpoint and cure temperature are not the same number; the part only knows its own temperature.
Also heard as
- cure
- bake schedule
- cure window
Do not mix it up with
- Gel time: Gel time measures how fast the powder starts to set; the cure schedule is the full time needed to finish the reaction.
Related terms
PMT
Part metal temperature, the temperature of the substrate itself, which is what actually drives the cure.
Oven profile
A temperature recording from thermocouples on real parts as they travel through the cure oven.
Undercure
A film that did not get enough time at temperature to crosslink fully, so it looks fine but performs poorly.
Overbake
Cure that went too hot or too long, causing yellowing, gloss loss and brittle film.