Industrial adhesives are widely used for various manufacturing processes like bonding different components, assembly, and coating and sealing electrical components. Various industries like construction, automotive manufacturing, OEM, medical and pharmaceutical and aerospace can benefit from the use of adhesives in the manufacturing process.
Adhesives are lightweight and structurally stronger in comparison to welding or screws. They can also have many chemical, electrical and thermal properties, making them the best choice for industrial manufacturing. Various types of adhesives are used in the manufacturing process to fit each industry’s unique requirements. In this blog, we will have a detailed look into different types of adhesives used in manufacturing and their benefits.
A] Types Of Adhesives Used In the Manufacturing Industry
1. Epoxy Adhesives
Epoxy adhesives are high-strength structural adhesives extensively used in manufacturing industries. Epoxies are usually available as one-part and two-part epoxy systems. The two-part epoxies consist of the epoxy resin and the curing agent. Epoxies are popular for their excellent mechanical strength and resistance to chemicals. Epoxies can be customised to have unique adhesive properties for manufacturing processes like thermal and electrical conductivity and resistance to suit the manufacturer’s requirements.
2. Silicone Adhesives
Silicone adhesives are capable of withstanding high heat; hence, they are used in manufacturing products that are exposed to high temperatures during their lifetime. Silicone-based adhesives offer excellent resistance to chemicals, weather and temperature, they are also very flexible and durable. Silicone adhesives can be used for various substrates such as glass, metal, ceramics and wood.
3. Heat-Curable Adhesives
Heat-curing adhesives have a unique property of curing under high temperatures. They are generally used in electronics, aerospace, and automotive industries. Heat-curing adhesives can be made with various polymer systems, including epoxies and silicones.
B] Benefits Of Using Adhesives In Manufacturing
1. High Versatility
Many manufacturers prefer adhesives over other fastening techniques due to their versatility. Adhesives can be used to bond various substrates, including glass, concrete, metal, plastic and ceramic. Various adhesives are available that can cater to different industries and applications. These adhesives include cyanoacrylate, acrylic, polyurethane, silicone, and epoxies. These adhesives offer unique advantages like resistance to heat, electricity, and chemicals, thermal and electrical conductivity, and other mechanical properties.
Industry experts can even contact an adhesive manufacturer to help them create a custom-formulated adhesive that suits their needs. This high versatility is not available with any other means of bonding as weldings and screws only work with metal substrates, and even then, it can cause structural damage.
2. Makes Product More Resilient
Manufacturers prefer to use adhesives over other bonding methods due to the flexibility and durability adhesives offer. It is very difficult to remove industry-grade adhesives once they have cured and settled. Adhesives can be tailored to have unique mechanical properties and chemical resistances, making them resistant to extreme conditions.
Many equipment and machines have to withstand high mechanical, chemical and environmental forces; hence, manufacturers must ensure their products can withstand these conditions. Sodium silicates and epoxies form a strong bond with a wide variety of substrates, which could take a lot of force to break. Adhesives can be tailored to maintain the bond strength in conditions like extremely high or low temperatures, humidity, exposure to harsh chemicals, etc.
3. Superior Bonding Performance
Adhesives offer strong adhesion to a wide variety of substrates and do a better job of supporting and holding the parts together than other bonding means. Different types of adhesives offer different bonding strengths and might even have unique resistances. It is essential to choose the right adhesive to obtain the best bonding performance for your products.
For example, if you are a manufacturer in the electronics industry, using an adhesive with thermal and electrical resistance or electrical conductivity would be preferable. Similarly, someone in the aerospace industry would prefer a low-outgassing adhesive. The bonding process is just as important as the adhesive. The adhesive must be spread evenly across the surface, and the curing condition and time must also be optimised. Products that need superior bonding strength, like the construction and automotive manufacturing industries, can benefit from structural adhesives like epoxies.
4. Improves Efficiency
Adhesives can cut down on the time taken to assemble the parts and the preparation time required for traditional methods. Adhesive technology advancements have made it possible to cure and set adhesives within seconds, reducing the overall manufacturing time. This makes the line assembly workers more efficient, increasing productivity and profits.
The time taken to prepare, apply and cure an adhesive is also significantly less than required for welding or brazing. Some adhesives also possess thermal and electrical resistance and conductivity, so applying an additional coating of specialised materials over components becomes unnecessary. Adhesives are also resistant to the effects of weather and other external factors, minimising downtime and constant maintenance.
5. Cost-Effective
Adhesive cost-effectiveness in manufacturing can be achieved by reducing the operation time required for manufacturing on a large scale and improving productivity. Higher efficiency can be leveraged to minimise the cost of manufacturing. Adhesives are also very durable and can withstand wear and tear for a long period of time, being cost-efficient in the long run. Additionally, adhesives are easier to join and can be adjusted before they cure, reducing the need to redo the task to correct mistakes.
Contrary to adhesives, when rivets and screws are used to bind metal components, the metal must be thicker to handle the pressure, raising the manufacturing cost. Other substrates like ceramics and glass also suffer in structural strength when altered to accommodate the fastenings; hence, additional measures need to be taken. Using adhesives eliminates these additional processes, reducing the cost.
6. Improved Aesthetics
Adhesives not only improve the bonding strength and durability of the material but also its aesthetics. Using adhesives instead of rigid screws, rivets, and welding offers more flexibility without compromising functionality. Also, unlike the screws and rivets, adhesives do not need any holes drilled into the substrate surface to fit in. The screws and rivets can stick out, and welding leaves marks on the metal surface, making the end product look uneven.
Aesthetics can be an important selling point in industries like automotive and construction. And adhesives can provide this smooth look as they allow the manufacturer to bend the materials with more flexibility and even finish. One additional benefit of adhesives over metal screws and rivets is that they do not rust, keeping the overall look clean and attractive.
7. Safety And Strength
Adhesives are lightweight and offer higher strength and stability in comparison to other methods. Adhesives provide support to the entire structure with strong adhesion to the substrates, which are very difficult to break. Adhesives with strong mechanical properties and resistance to the effects of the environment provide unmatched safety to the end user of the product.
High-performance adhesives in industrial manufacturing provide reliable adhesion to industries with high risks of safety, such as construction. Adhesives can also be designed to have additional properties, such as electrical and chemical resistance, which help avoid short circuits and fires in electrical components. Due to the safety and reliability of adhesives, many industries are switching to tailor-made adhesive solutions for their manufacturing requirements.
Conclusion
Using adhesives in lieu of mechanical fasteners can be very beneficial for various manufacturing industries. Adhesives offer several performance and design advantages that traditional methods are incapable of providing. Industries like aerospace, construction, electronics, automotive, and oil and chemicals can benefit from weight reduction, structural stability and environment resistance properties that adhesives offer.
If you are looking for tailored adhesive solutions for specialised manufacturing applications, contact us today! Our expert can help you find the perfect solution for your business needs.
