There are millions of adhesives. Here are five things that are important when considering and looking at adhesives:
Types of materials that are being adhered together
Size of the surface area to be bonded
Resistance to temperature and environment
Curing time
Ease of application
Holding force
Fatigue factors
yiyuan contains other products and information you need, so please check it out.
All adhesives have a temperature range of operation. For example, RTV is a silicone rubber with an extremely high melting point and is commonly used because of its wide range of temperature performance. You can put a lighter flame on silicone, and it won&#;t melt. It might change color a little bit, but it won't melt, and it does not burn easily. RTV also performs well at low temperature also, but it does get more brittle as it gets colder. It is necessary to consider the temperature swing it will need to withstand.
Another favorite adhesive we use is a thermoplastic adhesive from Loctite which is a superglue that can actually flex. Generally, it doesn&#;t require mixing and is a room-temperature curing adhesive. It is typically used for bonding rubber, polystyrene, wood, metal, and plastics together. Amazing stuff.
Tape is a quick way to create water resistance or a quick fastening scheme for an early prototype that ultimately will be bonded with RTV or some other epoxy type adhesive. We typically don't want a permanent bond in a prototype so we can take it apart. Tapes are great for temporary adhesion, but permanent adhesion can be done with them as well. There are as many tapes as there are adhesives out there.
There is a permanent tape called flex tape which sticks to almost anything, even when applied in water. You can go underwater and plug a hole in a boat with this tape to create a permanent seal. This is great IF you do not want to remove it. It is very, very sticky.
Zip ties are used for bundling of cables and wires, and also for attaching tags. They are fast and flexible and come in different sizes, from a few inches to several feet long. They are capable of holding quite a bit of force and are pretty good in most environments. Steel bands are metal versions of zip ties and are often used outdoors. You often see them holding electronic enclosures onto / power poles.
Velcro invented it, but there are hundreds of hook and loop makers. They are easy-to-use touch and close fasteners with good shear force and they come in many different retention force / pull-apart strengths. They are great for quick lightweight closure of pockets, tethers, and similar situations.
Typically they are an adhesion-backed solution although they can be sewn on to fabrics. The most common is a lightweight, low force fastener but there are industrial grades widely used in the automotive industry. The industrial grade has an adhesion capability similar to that of flex tape. Basically car body panels can be held in place with these solutions.
There are millions of types of fasteners and we have barely touched the surface. So much is dependent on the needs of the application and we thought it would be best to talk about a few fasteners used in typical applications.
For an outdoor enclosure that needs to be serviceable, a good choice would be a screw fastener design that has lock and flat washers. Sometimes we use them with o-ring typ washers for water sealing. The screws materials are often stainless steel for weather resistance. Socket Head Cap Screws (SHCS) are often our favorites.
For a plastic enclosure, we like to use threaded inserts so it could be taken apart and put back together. If screws are run straight into plastic, the plastic would be ruined after two or three cycles and will no longer work.
For an underwater product that will never be taken apart, it would typically be bonded with an adhesive that's resistant to the chemistry of the environment and safe for the application use, whether it's in the ocean or in a pot of boiling water. The adhesives would have to withstand specific application pressures and temperatures.
These are only a few different applications for fasteners, but there are thousands of others. We hope these examples help outline the decision making we go through when selecting a fastening approach. Regardless, a systematic approach considering function, aesthetics, environment, manufacturing and assembly is the key to success.
Are you interested in learning more about Fasteners Manufacturer? Contact us today to secure an expert consultation!