UV curable adhesives are a modern adhesive technology that offers many advantages. We at artimelt can look back on more than 20 years of experience in the development of radiation curable UV adhesives and are happy to pass on our artimelt knowledge to you for the switch to UV technology. This artimelt blog is intended to help processors of adhesives make the decision to switch to UV technology.

Change from rubber-based hot melt to UV-curable adhesives

artimelt assumes that, up to this point, you have been processing classic rubber-based hot melt. In this case the step to UV curable adhesives is a small one. You will already be familiar with hot melt, know how it is processed and have the appropriate equipment, such as a barrel melter, buffer tank and a coating plant in-house. You will also be familiar with the advantages and disadvantages of rubber-based hot melt, such as easy processing, good adhesion at low temperatures, or low weather resistance or temperature resistance. The first question to be answered now is whether you need the positive properties of UV curable adhesives for your products, such as:

• High temperature resistance up to 200°C
• High chemical resistance
• High UV resistance and therefore suitable for outdoor applications
• Approval for direct food contact
• Good punching properties

artimelt UV adhesives fulfill all these positive properties. In close cooperation, artimelt develops tailor-made UV adhesives for you, which are perfectly suited to your processing possibilities and fields of application.

Upgrade your coating systems with UV lamps

You can continue to use your existing coating system, but you will have to “upgrade” it. artimelt recommends the following: Talk to a UV equipment manufacturer and tell them what you want to do. Tell him you need UV lamps that emit in the UVC range so that artimelt adhesives can be cross-linked. Also consider the following points:

• How wide is my system?
• At what speed do I want to operate my system?
• How high is the coating weight going to be?
• How much space do I have on my existing hot melt system for UV lamp installation?
• Would I like to have the latest measurement and control technology that measures the UV output during system operation and adjusts it to the target value, or would I like to check and readjust it manually?

All these points ultimately have an influence on the entirety of the equipment and thus also on your investment costs.

Invest for the future: more UV lamps, separate barrel melting units, buffer tank and hose lines

A very important artimelt tip: Don't just have the UV system designed to meet your current needs. Think about the future and invest in more lamp units than you need today. This has the following advantages:

• You can coat a higher coating weight and network safely.
• You can increase the coating speed.
• If the existing lamp fails, you can switch on the spare lamp and continue production.

artimelt also recommends investing in separate barrel melting units, buffer tanks and hose lines to the application head. UV curable adhesives are not compatible with other hot melt systems and can lead to gel formation when mixed, resulting in a poor coating appearance.

With this additional equipment you can kill several birds with one stone:

• You can very quickly switch from classic hot melt to UV adhesives.
• You will save yourself the time-consuming cleaning of barrel melter, buffer tank and hose lines every time the adhesive is changed.
• You will avoid the risk of gel formation.

Summary

artimelt has summarized the most important points for you:

• First answer the question whether you need the properties of the UV adhesives.
• You will need lamps that emit in the UVC range.
• Think about the future and invest in more lamp units than you need today.
• Invest in additional peripheral equipment such as a barrel melter, buffer tank and hose lines.

artimelt has comprehensive know-how regarding UV adhesives and the best contacts to equipment manufacturers. Let your artimelt Key Account Manager advise you.

When you hear the term adhesive tape, the first thing most of you will probably think of is the traditional adhesive tape used in offices or packing tape used for sealing shipping cartons. This is no surprise. After all, these are the applications that we seem to come across the most in our everyday lives.

When using these adhesive tapes, it is important that they achieve a good bond on the corresponding surface. They usually only have to fulfill their function for a short time. The package is sealed, sent and opened by the recipient – mission accomplished! This means that such adhesive tapes only have minimal demands and comparatively cheap tape materials and adhesives are used.

Masking tape – suitable for everyday use

Removable adhesive tapes, however, have higher demands. One common example can be seen in classic masking tape. Anyone who has painted anything at home knows how important it is to use the correct masking tape. The tape has to meet several requirements here:

• It has to bond well with the substrate on which it is attached
• It must not become soft when painted over
• The bond must be only strong enough so that it can be removed cleanly and without residue from the substrate afterwards

If these requirements are not met, the following can happen:

• The edges become detached and paint runs behind the tape, or the tape falls off completely
• The softened tape tears during removal
• If the adhesive bond is too high, the tape cannot be removed from the substrate or the substrate is damaged on removal

It is thus important that all components – upper material, adhesive, substrate – are in perfect harmony.

These are just two examples of where adhesive tapes are used in everyday life. However, tapes are also used on an even greater scale and under much stricter demands, including in products that we may not even think about.

Adhesive tapes in vehicles

Several meters of adhesive tape can be found in our vehicles, for example. Entire cable harnesses are wrapped in adhesive tape so they are easier to install. Many foamed adhesive tapes are also used. In this case, the tape is used for shock absorption and compensates for surface irregularities. These adhesive tapes feature high-quality solvent adhesives that have to maintain their function for many years and in the most varied conditions, from tropical heat in summer to Siberian winters.

Adhesive tapes and passenger transport

Applications in the field of passenger transport have very strict requirements in terms of flammability. Whether double-sided tape for fixing carpets or hook-and-loop tape for fastening headrest covers on aircraft or trains, the tapes must have flame-retardant qualities. In this case, the tape material and adhesive must contain additional flame-retardant components that ideally lead to a flame extinguishing on its own. This means an extremely important additional function also has to be met in addition to the traditional adhesive quality of bonding two materials together. This requires extremely comprehensive formulation expertise at the adhesive manufacturer. Finding the correct formulation brings with it high development efforts.

Adhesive tapes and electronics

Adhesive tapes are also found in our trusty companions – namely smartphones. For example, they are used for fixing the display securely in place. Also used are conductive adhesive tapes that are designed for earthing the devices. This means there are many other electronic appliances where adhesive tapes are required, including tablets, televisions and so on.

Adhesive tapes on the construction site

Adhesive tapes are also regularly used at construction sites. “Airtight construction” has become a common term in recent years. Put simply, this means that air is prevented from passing through the building when the doors and windows are closed. This leads to improved thermal insulation and prevents thermal bridges, which can cause the build-up of moisture and ultimately mold growth. Airtight construction is standard in today’s passive houses. One way in which this is achieved is by using adhesive tapes. Roof underlayments, which are used as a membrane for moisture exchange, have to be connected to one another so that they are airtight. This is ensured by using suitable adhesive tapes that permanently connect the underlayments together. These tapes are partially pre-integrated in the material lines, which makes laying and connecting much easier for the builder. As work takes place in all weather conditions, the underlayments also have to achieve a good bond in rain and cold. Moreover, the tapes also have to ensure that the lines remain airtight for several decades. Fortunately, there are high-quality adhesives available that meet these requirements! Additionally, vapor barriers are also installed under the roof of the house. These are special plastic films that also have to be stuck together reliably for years using adhesive tapes.

Different applications mean different requirements

All of these applications place different demands on the tape material and, above all, on the adhesive. For simple applications such as packing tape, rubber hot melts can be used. Meanwhile, acrylate adhesives are the correct choice for applications where extreme durability and high temperature and chemical resistance are of primary importance.

Summary

To summarize:

• Adhesive tapes are used in many areas of our everyday life, whether by us ourselves or in the things we use
• Adhesive tapes have to meet a wide range of different requirements – strong adhesion, easy to remove, able to cope with weather conditions or flame-retardant
• Rubber hot melts can be used for short-term and simple applications, while acrylate adhesives are preferred for high-end applications

If you require more information on finding the right adhesive for your application, our adhesive experts would be happy to help.

By the way, did you know that adhesive tape is also a great advertising medium? Your company logo or another slogan can be printed on the tape. Thanks to modern digital printing technology, small series of just a few rolls can be produced at relatively low cost.