Fundamentals of Industrial Adhesives

With their ability to bond many substrates including plastics, metals, rubbers, and glass, adhesives offer several major benefits over alternative joining methods such as thermal joining and mechanical fastening. Adhesives distribute stress load evenly over a broad area, reducing stress on a joint. Since they are applied inside the joint, adhesives are invisible within the assembly. In addition, they resist flex and vibration stresses, and form a seal that can protect the joint from corrosion. Of the multitude of adhesives currently available, eight families are most commonly selected. Each offers a unique combination of performance and processing benefits. This article provides the fundamentals of adhesive joint design, and describes anaerobics, cyanoacrylates, hot-melt adhesives, epoxies, polyurethanes, light-cure acrylics, light-cure cyanoacrylates, and two-part acrylics.