If you’ve been following our blog, you already know that we are big fans of adhesives. Whether you’re assembling an electronic device or creating a wearable that needs to stick to skin, odds are there’s an adhesive that can fit into your design and improve the functionality or manufacturability of your product.
Adhesives technology has advanced by leaps and bounds. There’s now a wide range of products available, and many are highly specialized to overcome common design problems or limitations of older adhesives. Depending on your application, you can incorporate adhesives that offer a variety of benefits, including:
With so many advantages, it should be no surprise that adhesives are common in a variety of applications and products:
Since modern adhesives are highly specialized, it’s critical that you select the right one for your specific needs. Here are seven factors to help you narrow down to the ideal solution.
2. Condition of surface – What properties of the surface need to be accounted for that may impact adhesion? Is the substrate rough or smooth? Rigid or flexible? Coated or uncoated?
4. Performance characteristics – What are the usage expectations for the adhesive and final product? Is the expected life single-use, one year, or even longer?
6. Harsh exposures – Similar to environmental conditions but more specific, will the adhesive need to contend with contaminants or elements such as water, saltwater, dust or dirt, oil, gases, chemicals, cleaner, sterilization, etc.?
Hopefully, this list gives you a better idea of what to consider when selecting an adhesive. However, there’s no substitute for real experience. At Tapecon, we have extensive materials expertise and close relationships with the leading manufacturers. Using this experience, we can provide material recommendations and conduct testing to help you find the ideal adhesive for your application. From there, we can bring your component to life through a variety of custom converting techniques.
At Tapecon, we have over 100 years of experience helping customers solve their complex product challenges. Learn more about our custom materials converting services.