Adhesive Joints - A Guide to Creating Lasting Bonds with Adhesives, Sealants and Coatings by Master Bond

Topics Covered

Adhesives & Sealants Checklist for Different Applications
Adhesive Bonding Made Simple
Common Errors in the Use of Adhesives and Sealants
Factors Affecting the Mechanical and Performance Properties of Adhesives and Sealants
Advantages of Adhesive Bonding Over Alternative Assembly Techniques
Manufacturing Quality and Processing Time of Adhesives and Sealants
Cost Savings Features of Master Bond Adhesives and Sealants
Customized Packaging to Customer Specifications
About Master Bond

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Adhesives & Sealants Checklist for Different Applications

This is a checklist of some of the information an applications engineer needs to know to recommend the right product for your application:

• What is your application?
• What are the specific substrates to be bonded?
• What mechanical forces, shock & vibration will the assembly be subjected to?
• What is the maximum service temperature range and normal operating temperature range for the component? Is it subjected to any thermal shock or cycling?
• Will the bond be exposed to any chemicals or sterilants?
• Do you need to meet any specific standards or approvals such as USP Class VI, FDA food grade, NASA low outgassing, and UL94V-0 flame retardant
• Do you have any required optical characteristics?
• Do you require specific thermal and/or electrical properties?
• Do you have specific viscosity requirements?
• What mixing, dispensing and curing equipment do you already have? Do you have any surface preparation equipment?

Adhesive Bonding Made Simple

We are talking to Robert Michaels, Master Bond's V.P. Technical Sales, on how to select the right adhesive, sealant or coating for an application:

RB: What are some of the critical errors a customer should be aware of when planning a joining or sealing application?

Robert: To begin with, let’s look at the major reasons for adhesive and sealant failure. Most often we find that the wrong adhesive product is being supplied to the customer. Selecting the proper product for an application requires an understanding of the customer's application as well as expertise in engineered polymers. At Master Bond, a member of our technical staff discusses this in detail with a customer before a product is recommended. That same person is available for continued support to deal with any issues that may arise in testing or production. Most suppliers are simply not able to provide this kind of personal support.

Common Errors in the Use of Adhesives and Sealants

On a practical level, common errors in the use of adhesives and sealants include:

• Improper mixing
• Bad or incomplete cures from high humidity, low temperatures and/or excessive heat in heat-based cures
• Poor surface preparation
• Bond lines that are too thin - often as a result of excessive squeeze-out
• Incorrect fixturing
• Expired or outdated products
• Improperly stored products

Factors Affecting the Mechanical and Performance Properties of Adhesives and Sealants

RB: Are there other important issues a customer should be aware of?

Robert: The freshness of a product has a strong impact on its mechanical and performance properties. Most suppliers premake products in giant batches and then leave them sitting in a warehouse until they're sold. Master Bond's chemists freshly prepare each order when it is received. That ensures maximum shelf life and consistent performance for the customer.

Advantages of Adhesive Bonding Over Alternative Assembly Techniques

The advantages of adhesive bonding over alternative assembly techniques are outlined in the following:

• Improved stress distribution; stresses are evenly distributed over the entire bonding area thereby minimizing high localized stress concentrations.
• Outstanding fatigue resistance of adhesively bonded joints especially to cyclic loading.
• Superior resistance to mechanical shock and vibration even upon prolonged exposure to hostile environmental conditions.
• Ability to bond dissimilar as well as similar materials including metals, plastics, elastomers, glass, ceramics and wood.
• Outstanding humidity and corrosion resistance at both ambient and elevated temperature conditions.
• Superior thermal resistance.
• Availability of adhesive formulations for a wide range of service conditions from as high as 600°F to cryogenic environments.
• Adhesively bonded surfaces feature smooth contours free from gaps and external projections unlike rivets and other mechanical fasteners.
• Less critical tolerances acceptable for high performance bonding compared to mechanical fastening methods.
• Substantial weight and significant cost savings without decrease of pertinent bonding strength parameters.
• Unexcelled dimensional stability and long term durability.
• Techniques are available for disassembly of adhesively bonded assemblies without deleteriously affecting the individual components.

Manufacturing Quality and Processing Time of Adhesives and Sealants

It is also essential that a supplier will be able to meet the customer's production schedule. Master Bond offers exceptionally fast order turnaround. Our staff is used to dealing with tight production schedules and are skilled at getting product where it needs to be, anywhere in the world, as fast as possible. We know how critical our products are to our customers, and we make every effort to make sure we are not the weak link in their supply chain.

Being sure that you will be able to still get a product down the road is also very important, especially considering the dwindling number of polymer suppliers. Keeping up with regulatory requirements, especially in a global business environment, has lead many companies either away from this industry or to severely limit their product offerings. Master Bond has over 30 years in this field. As a custom formulator, we are often called upon to make replacements for discontinued products. This is a real lifesaver for customers who have lost their only source for a production-critical product.

Cost Savings Features of Master Bond Adhesives and Sealants

Our edge in this field is the fact that companies know that they can rely on us and rely on our products. They are never going to have to suddenly reroute their production budget so they can buy up the remaining stock of an epoxy or make a mad scramble to try and revamp an item because the epoxy that’s holding it together will no longer be available in two months. I mean, who wants to do R&D on the same thing twice? What’s the shelf life on all that excess stock you’ve taken on? That’s all money out the door.

Customized Packaging to Customer Specifications

Master Bond offer a wide array of packaging options to speed productivity, minimize waste and save energy including:

• Quantities from grams to gallons
• Cans, bottles and jars
• Cartridges for manual and pneumatic guns
• Premixed and frozen syringes for two part systems
• Bipaks for field service kit

About Master Bond

Adhesive manufacturer Master Bond Inc offers over 3,000 different grades of specially designed formulations. They differ in viscosity, cure speed, temperature resistance, chemical resistance, strength, electrical properties, color etc. These products are specifically designed to solve design, manufacturing and repair/maintenance problems. They will increase productivity, reduce waste, save energy and improve your products performance. They are the perfect solution.

Source: Master Bond

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