Complex Product Assembly Adhesive Challenges Are No Problem

Product assembly challenges can vary depending on the specific products and manufacturing processes involved. For this reason, it’s important to partner with someone who understands your industry’s distinct challenges and nuances.

A full-service provider, APPLIED Adhesives offers comprehensive adhesive solutions for product assembly, from our team’s industry expertise to our customized, lab-tested adhesives and equipment, to parts and services.

Customized Assembly Adhesive Solutions

Unique needs require custom adhesive solutions. APPLIED has access to a wide variety of engineered adhesives, along with experienced professionals who ensure you are using the best adhesive for your specific application.

APPLIED’s adhesive solutions encompass but are not limited to the following market segments: Appliances, Assembled Materials, Building Components, Electronics, Filtration, Furniture, General Transportation, Industrial Durables, Marine, and Woodworking.

Structural Bonding Adhesives

Structural bonding adhesives provide high-strength bonds between substrates and distribute stress evenly across the bonded area. Their structural integrity enables them to replace traditional mechanical fasteners.

Methyl Methacrylate (MMA)

When looking to replace rivets or welding, MMA are an optimal choice, providing superior adhesion to metals, composites and thermoplastic materials. MMA are the adhesive of choice for transportation, marine and construction applications.

Methacrylates can generally be used without surface preparation when joining plastics, metals and composites; in addition, they are tolerant to off-ratio mixing, retaining strength and durability under the most severe environmental conditions. They resist water and solvents to form an impenetrable bond.

Benefits of MMA include:

  • Performance versatility translates into fewer SKU’s
  • Little to no surface preparation, higher throughput
  • Easily dispensed, faster assembly time

Hybrid SMP

Hybrid SMP technology can be used in a variety of structural adhesive and sealant applications ranging from commercial vehicles to general assembly.

Benefits of Hybrid SMP

  • One component system for easy application
  • Little to no surface prep for cost savings
  • Cured material remains flexible
  • Paintable upon curing
  • Strong green strength for quick assembly

Polyurethane

One and two part polyurethane adhesives are known for toughness and flexibility even at low temperatures. They also have good shear strength and excellent resistance to moisture humidity.

APPLIED offers one and two component urethane adhesives at high and low viscosities to meet your specific application needs.

Benefits:

  • Highly flexible and toughened options available
  • Various cure schedules
  • Gap filling ability
  • Paintable
  • Work well for potting electronic components or encapsulating delicate parts

Epoxy

Epoxy adhesives are suitable for bonding metals, composites, and plastics, and they are the original and most widely used structural adhesive. These two component reactive adhesives consist of a resin and an activator which when combined are set to a high strength material.

Other benefits of epoxy adhesives include:

  • Very high shear strength
  • Ability to be modified to meet a variety of bonding needs
  • Bonds that are generally rigid and fill small gaps well with little shrinkage
  • Excellent chemical resistance and bond strength

Sealants

A good sealant must provide strong adhesion and be able to fill gaps to block the penetration of air, moisture, oil, dust and other contaminants.

Because sealants are used on windows, door panels, concrete seams and various marine applications, they must also be responsive to movement caused by thermal expansion or vibration. While they have strong bonding properties, sealants are not meant to support substantial loads and are therefore best used to secure lightweight materials.

Urethane Sealants

Urethane sealants offer excellent adhesion to a wide variety of substrates, including metals, plastics and wood, commonly used in various industries for sealing joints, seams and gaps in assemblies.

Benefits:

  • Superior flexibility and toughness
  • Paintable
  • Good for harsh environmental conditions

 

Silicone Sealants

Silicone sealants offer outstanding resistance to extreme temperatures, weathering and UV exposure, making them ideal for outdoor applications and environments with high heat or humidity.

Benefits:

  • Widest useful temperature range
  • Cures to resilient elastomer
  • Also available as a serviceable grease sealant

 

Latex Sealants

They offer good adhesion to porous surfaces such as wood, concrete and drywall and are commonly used in construction, woodworking and DIY projects for sealing gaps, cracks and joints in interior and exterior applications.

Benefits:

  • Easy to apply and clean up with water
  • Paintable
  • Economical choice for many applications

Butyl Sealants

They have good adhesion to metals and other non-porous substrates, making them suitable for sealing joints and seams. They are commonly used for sealing windows, metal roofing, HVAC ductwork and concrete joints.

Benefits:

  • Excellent weathering
  • Available in pumpable or tape form
  • Non-curing allowing for serviceability

Laminating Adhesives

Widely used to create composite materials with desirable properties, such as increased strength, flexibility or resistance to environmental factors, laminating adhesives are designed to create a strong, permanent bond between layers of different material.

Hot Melt Polyurethane (HM PUR)

Reactive HM PUR can be used in a wide range of applications requiring a permanent bond where high strength and elongation are needed. In addition to laminating applications, HM PUR is also used in a variety of other bonding applications, including bookbinding, wood bonding, and general assembly.

Benefits of HM PUR

  • Little surface prep needed for strong bonding
  • High elongation and high tensile strength
  • Superior adhesion to challenging substrates
  • High heat resistance
  • Has high green strength
  • Superior adhesion to challenging substrates including plasticized vinyls

Polyamide

Polyamide adhesives are a class of thermoplastic adhesives known for their versatility and high-performance characteristics. They are often used as laminating adhesives for bonding various substrates, including plastics, metals, textiles, and wood.

Benefits:

  • High temperature resistance
  • Flexible and rigid options
  • Available in pellets, powders, and web

Instant Bonding

Instant bonding adhesives are known for their rapid curing time, typically within seconds to minutes after application. Formulated with cyanoacrylate, a powerful adhesive that creates a strong bond between substrates, instant bonding adhesives are ideal for applications where speed and precision are essential. This makes them an ideal choice in industries that require quick assembly.

Cyanoacrylate (CA)

Cyanoacrylates are powerful adhesives that create a strong bond between substrates. Also known as instant bonding adhesives, they are ideal for applications where speed and precision are essential. This makes them an ideal choice in applications that require quick cure speed.

Benefits of CA:

  • Strong bonding to difficult substrates, including most plastics, metals, and rubbers
  • Cures within a few second for fast production
  • Available in various viscosities for ease of use
  • Can be sanded and painted

Soft Goods Bonding

Adhesives for soft goods are specifically formulated to create strong and flexible bonds between soft, pliable materials such as fabrics, foams and rubber. They are ideal for applications where flexibility, comfort and durability are essential, making them a key component in various product assembly processes.

Water-Based Adhesives

Water-based adhesives are known for environmentally friendliness, low VOC (volatile organic compound) emissions and ease of use. These adhesives are often used in bonding soft goods such as fabrics, foams and textiles in the mattress and furniture industries. Water-based adhesives can offer flexibility, comfort and durability, making them ideal for applications where the assembled product requires a comfortable and secure bond without compromising softness.

Solvent

Solvent

Solvent adhesives are known for their fast drying times, excellent bond strength, and resistance to environmental factors. They are often used in applications where fast-tack and robust bonding are required, such as complex profile wrapping with fabric foam.

Hot Melt

Flexible hot melts can be swirl-spray applied and provide fast-tack and are environmentally friendly adhesives. These 100% solids adhesives provide high coverage on large surfaces.

Adhesive Equipment and Cartridge Filling

From cartridge guns to bulk dispense, roll coaters to hot melt tanks, APPLIED Adhesives has the equipment you need to dispense reactive and non-reactive adhesives alike. We also can help integrate robotics into your dispensing through our in-house and partnered expertise. Whether dispensing from bulk containers or filling cartridges we have your process covered.

 

Lab Testing

Our technical service team may increase your line efficiency through a comprehensive adhesive and equipment evaluation that can optimize your adhesives selection and application.
We can also help you manage adhesive over- and underuse by making recommendations based on current product needs and avoid bottlenecks due to using the wrong glue or inefficient adhesive equipment.

If you are considering a new product or a change in production, you can also work with APPLIED on a pilot automation testing process. With this capability, APPLIED simulates production line variables, allowing you to keep your lines running. Once a suitable solution is agreed upon, you can have confidence that a line demonstration will have minimal impact on your production.

Lab Testing

APPLIED Brings Customized, Cohesive Adhesive Solutions to Product Assembly

With over 50 years of successful dispensing experience, access to global manufacturers, and a team of specially trained service technicians who can service all your adhesive equipment, APPLIED has you covered. Learn more about why customers choose APPLIED.

We’re More Than Adhesives. We’re Your One-Stop Shop for Product Assembly.

Ready to learn how we can help you with your toughest
product assembly challenges?
Contact us today.