The Advantages of Instant Adhesives (cyanoacrylate) for the Industrial Market

Abstract

This blog post is intended to provide our readers a greater understanding of the advantages of using instant adhesives in their manufacturing process (assuming of course that the application fits the technology).  We will discuss the key advantages in terms of application consideration and overall performance benefits.


Instant adhesives

Cyanoacrylate (pronounced sahy-an-oh-ak-ruh-leyt) chemistry has existed for over 65 years and has been used in many product assembly applications including metals, plastics, elastomers and porous substrates.  In addition, they have served a variety of well known  industries including automotive,  consumer products, electronics, life sciences and construction to mention a few. 

In general, cyanoacrylate adhesive technology is an acrylic resin that rapidly polymerizes in the presence of water (specifically hydroxide ions), forming long, strong chains, joining the bonded surfaces together.  Since the presence of moisture causes the adhesive to set (cure), exposure to normal levels of ambient humidity in the atmosphere causes a thin skin to start to form within seconds.  Because of this, cyanoacrylate is applied thinly (not a heavy bead), to ensure that the reaction proceeds rapidly for bonding. 

Because they cure quickly when exposed to ion catalysts, cyanoacrylates offer many advantages over other 1 and 2-part industrial adhesives used in today’s manufacturing assembly processes. 

These include:

Non-flammable 

These one-part adhesives are solvent free, non-flammable, environmentally safe and are formulated with 100% solid material which significantly reduces risk during the manufacturing process.  

Rapid cure 

Cyanoacrylate cure times can range from as quickly as several seconds to within a few minutes.  But an even greater advantage is they can be formulated within a wide range of viscosities and cure times to meet many application requirements. 

Unique bonding characteristics 

Cyanoacrylates are able to bond to a wide range of similar and dissimilar materials (metals, plastics, elastomers, ceramics and wood), which provide exceptional bond strength with even stress distribution as well as excellent aging and weathering properties.  This makes them ideal for design engineers who require fixturing to numerous materials within their assembly process. 

Very easy to use and automate

Cyanoacrylates are very easy to use and automate, weather introduced into existing production line or in a maintenance repair shop. They cure transparent allowing for clean product aesthetics plus cure and bond well to a variety of substrates.  In addition, they fixture rapidly and deliver high strength bonds when fully cured and their speed of cure increases manufacturing throughput and reduces per piece processing costs. With fixture speeds measured in seconds, cyanoacrylates provide excellent adhesion to most substrates and are versatile enough to be used in automated dispensing systems in assembly applications.

Ideal for high temperature applications

These fast fixturing, high strength cyanoacrylates can be specified for higher temperature applications (up to 250 °F), replacing slower curing adhesives such as acrylics, epoxies and silicones.  These grades show excellent hot strength and heat aging properties.  Weather the need is brief in process exposure or end user exposure of assembled products in high heat environments, cyanoacrylates should be another option to consider for design and process engineers.

More efficiencies and reduced costs in the manufacturing process

Because of their fast cure performance, they require less space to hold (clamp or fixture) product while waiting for the adhesive to cure. This allows process layout to fit into a smaller footprint in your manufacturing facility.  In addition, one-component instant adhesives reduce cost by reducing the scrap inherent with two-component adhesives including cured mixing nozzles and off-ratio adhesive streams.

Toagosei America Inc. manufactures and markets the Aron Alpha brand of industrial cyanoacrylate instant adhesives (instant glues), primers, accelerators and applicator solutions for a wide range of manufacturing, automotive, electronics and general assembly applications.  For immediate attention, contact us today.

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