Replacing mechanical fasteners with adhesives or tape – sounds crazy right!? But ever advancing adhesives and tapes are giving engineers more options for fastening and joining methods for consumer and industrial applications.
So what are the benefits of adhesives and tape fasteners?
In a nutshell, adhesives and tapes offer reduced labour costs, processing costs, assembly time and greater ease of use. In addition, using adhesives and tapes will lower the weight of the final product. Not to mention the aesthetic improvements! Adhesive and tape bonding is unique in that it allows assemblers to bond dissimilar materials, such as thermoplastics, composites and low friction polymer materials – just to name a few.
Our team recently sat down with 3M to discuss assembly solutions, specifically the multiple bonding solutions for each of the six common assemblies:
1. Panel to frame assembly
2. Mounting and trim attachment
3. Gasket attachment
4. Sealing, potting and encapsulating
5. Large surface lamination
6. Small joint attachment
Adhesive and tape manufacturers, such as 3M, are actively launching a host of new products to suit nearly every type of application. Take 3M’s industrial aerosol adhesive for example – it’s adhesive in an can! 3M’s aerosol adhesive job matched formulation offers premium performance to paper, plastic, foam, metal and more.
When you eliminate the need for screws and rivets, your design can truly shine. Enter the 3M™ VHB™ Tape. The innovative 3M VHB Tape enables a smooth surface with a virtually invisible bond, for a sleek, eye-catching seamless look that will stand up to the elements.
There are a multitude of tapes for different applications, so it’s best to consult the experts for the right tape for your application. But if you’re looking to do a little more research into the VHB tape we highly recommend you take a look at 3M’s website.
Adhesives and tapes are frequently used in bonding automotive, furniture, aerospace and even sealing submarines to save time and money.
So the next time you are using mechanical fasteners, think to yourself ‘Could I use a tape or adhesive for this application?’