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Glue Dots are pre-formed, pressure sensitive adhesives which will stick to almost any surface. Developed by Glue Dots International, they are a quick, easy and truly versatile adhesive option. Offering many unique benefits, Glue Dots have become a staple adhesive choice in industries such as packaging, food and beverage, pharmaceutical and manufacturing.

Read on to find out 4 reasons you should try Glue Dot adhesives…

Faster & Easier Production Lines with Glue Dots:

Glue Dots are a simple, convenient and versatile alternative to traditional adhesives such as hot melts and double-sided tapes. There is minimal training required in order to successfully apply a Glue Dot adhesive, allowing for a quick and easy start up. Glue Dot adhesives offer an immediate solution to bonding applications as they can be applied instantly and require no drying or curing time.

Additionally, Glue Dots offer a vast selection of different application methods, ranging from pocket-sized applicators to fully automated in-line equipment. This makes dispensing Glue Dots an efficient and economical process to implement.

 

A Glue Dot for Every Application:

Glue Dot adhesives are available in five standard tack levels and there are three profiles to choose from. The tack levels range from low tack which allows bonds to be removed, to super high tack for a permanent adhesion. A versatile adhesive, Glue Dots adhere to wide variety of materials including paper, plastic, foil, glass, wood and aluminium.  Like other adhesives, selecting the correct variety of a Glue Dot is determined by the substrate, the product’s orientation and the external environmental conditions.

Furthermore, custom adhesive sizes, formulas and configurations are also available upon request to help overcome specific application challenges. The experienced Glue Dots team can deliver their adhesive formulas in patterns of the user’s choice, making the options virtually endless. The sheer versatility means that there is a Glue Dot adhesive available for every packaging, printing or manufacturing project.

Minimal Adhesive Waste:

Unlike traditional adhesives such as hot melts, Glue Dots are a preformed adhesive which provide consistent and even coverage. Glue Dots can be placed precisely where you wish with ease, and leaves no stringing, residue or squeeze-out. This eliminates excess material waste and means that very little clean up or additional finishing is required. The clean bond lines give impressive results when used on product packaging or in the pharmaceutical industry.

An Extremely Safe Adhesive Option:

Glue Dots offer an extremely safe application process from start to finish. They have a non-toxic formulation and require no electricity or heat during application. Furthermore, the hand-held applicator is easy to use and eradicates the risk of repetitive strain injuries (RSI). Glue Dots formulation is odour-free, eliminating fumes and creating a safe application environment.

Shop Glue Dot Adhesives Now

 Additional Links

Ellsworth Adhesives supply a wide range of Glue Dot adhesives and applicators, all offering quick delivery in just 1-5 days!  Shop the range here.

If you have any questions about Glue Dot Adhesives, please contact msilson@gluedots.com.

The sign, printing and graphics industry is one that involves constant innovation and requires solutions to unique challenges. Signage and graphical printing are now commonplace in nearly every environment, and are applied to a growing number of surfaces and modern materials.

Adhesives are playing an increasingly important role in the industry as they provide ways to adhere modern materials, allow improved aesthetics and reduce the cost of mechanical fasteners. Double-sided acrylic foam tapes like VHB from 3M and similar brands are used particularly in permanently adhere all types of signage quickly, easily and reliably.

What are structural bonding tapes?

Structural bonding tapes are generally coated acrylic foam. These tapes can vary in thickness from under .5mm to over 2mm. They come in rolls covered by a release liner and are easily applied to cleaned surfaces as regular tape would be. When the release liner is removed and the surfaces are pressed together, adhesive begins flowing and bonding to each surface. In general, 50 percent of the bond strength is achieved after 20 minutes, with 90 percent after 24 hours and 100 percent after 72 hours.

These tapes come in a few different families, for bonding different substrates. They generally provide excellent bond strengths on a number of materials, including metal, glass and plastics. Special formulations are available for low surface energy materials like polyethylene and polypropylene, and others can be used for plasticized vinyl – unlike some other adhesives. Adhesives’ foam-core construction also allows for thermal expansion and contraction, even between dissimilar substrates.

Unique advantages of adhesive tapes

Structural bonding tapes provide some unique advantages, particularly over mechanical fasteners, but also in comparison to other adhesives. The bonds formed have extremely high tensile strength, as well as resistance to moisture and chemical attack. They perform better than rivets or bolts in many cases, not only because of their high strength, but because their uniformity allows stress to be spread across the entire bond line.

Their foam-core construction also allows for thermal expansion and contraction, even between dissimilar substrates, increasing the life span of bonded parts. They are simpler to use than other adhesive methods because they require no mixing or clean up and can be applied by hand without specialised equipment.

How are they being used?

In the sign, printing and graphics industry, tapes are used for a number of permanent bonding solutions. They are used to attach road signs to metal backings and stiffeners, as well as other general-purpose metal signage. Structural bonding tapes can attach dissimilar substrates, so attachment metal to concrete or other architectural materials is possible. Both large and small exterior signs for businesses can be adhered with tapes – like large acrylic lettering or placards. They can also be used to apply architectural panels with seamless construction and around contoured profiles.

 

Shop our range of adhesive tapes here. 

Additional Links

If you have any questions about adhesive tapes, we know a man who can help! Ask The Ellsworth Adhesives Glue Doctor!

The content for this month’s blog post was provided by Gluespec® – a service of Ellsworth Adhesives.
Gluespec helps engineers to discover adhesives and other materials for their industrial applications.

Polyurethane adhesives, also known as PU adhesives, provide extremely strong and secure bonds. Polyurethanes cater to a wide variety of application requirements due to their sheer versatility and are used in numerous industries including automotive and electronics.

Available to purchase in both one and two component formulations, polyurethane adhesives can be altered to suit the user’s specifications. Part of the structural adhesive family, polyurethanes bring a whole host of advantages to bonding applications.

Read on to find out which characteristics make polyurethanes a popular choice…

Polyurethanes adhesives are truly versatile:

Polyurethanes can be used to bond a wide variety of materials, including those which are dissimilar. This includes metals, plastics, composites, wood and rubber. The ability to form strong bonds between these diverse materials is crucial to the longevity of the application.

Furthermore, polyurethanes are available in numerous different custom formulations to suit specific application requirements. Additional features include optical clarity, low odour, colour and cure times. The ability to adapt these characteristics makes polyurethanes a truly functional choice.

 

PU adhesives are extremely flexible:

Polyurethanes have very good elongation and recovery properties and can be used in applications which require a degree of flexibility. This makes them an excellent choice for bonding applications where the materials have different coefficients of expansion, or those with differing elongation properties when bearing high loads.

 

Design freedom is endless with polyurethanes:

Unlike mechanical fasteners, structural adhesives allow for the easy joining of complex shapes. They also allow for the bonding of dissimilar materials with ease. Due to these characteristics, polyurethanes are often used by manufacturers in light weighting applications. Polyurethanes provide smooth and invisible bond lines and do not take away from the aesthetic of the finished materials.

 
 

They also provide high strength bonds:

Polyurethanes can form a strong bond even before the adhesive has dried and sealed completely. This initial bond has enough strength that it does not require any form of clamps or fastening materials, making the manufacturing process much quicker and simpler.

These robust bonds make polyurethanes a highly effective choice in demanding applications. In addition to a strong bond, polyurethanes also provide a tight seal.

 

And are suitable even in harsh environments:

Polyurethane adhesives are resistant to temperature fluctuations and remain undamaged when exposed to high temperatures for prolonged periods of time. They are also available with varying degrees of chemical and heat resistance which ensure the material does not deteriorate in harsh conditions.
 

Our Best Selling Polyurethane Adhesives:

Robnor Resinlab EL420LV

3m 550

Robnor Resinlab EL171H

Lord 550

Shop our complete range of polyurethane adhesives here.

 

Additional links:

At Ellsworth Adhesives, we supply a wide range of polyurethane adhesives from leading brands Lord, 3M, Henkel Loctite, Robnor Resinlab and Permabond. View our entire range of polyurethane adhesives here.

Do you want more information about structural adhesives? Read our Quick Guide to Structural Adhesives here.

Not sure if polyurethanes adhesives are right for you? Our Glue Doctor is here to answer any technical questions you may have. Simply fill out our enquiry form.

A threadlocker is an anaerobic, single-part adhesive which is applied to the threads of fasteners such as screws or bolts to prevent loosening. Threadlocking adhesives are increasingly replacing traditional locking devices in threaded assemblies as a way of overcoming challenging production issues and increasing reliability.

Read on to find out 4 benefits of threadlockers over mechanical locking devices, as well as our top product recommendations…

1. Ability to Gap Fill

Traditional methods are not always effective as they cannot completely fill the gap between the substrate and the fastener. In fact, there is only around 15% contact between the engaging threads of the mechanical locking device, leaving an 85% air gap.

The liquid consistency of threadlockers means they can overcome these design flaws and fully fill the gap with ease, locking out air and other contaminants.

We recommend: Henkel Loctite 245 Medium Strength

2. Reduce Vibration

The air gap which is produced when using mechanical locking devices allows for vibration and a side to side movement of the screw or bolt to occur. This movability leads to the fastener becoming loose and can cause the threaded assembly to fail. When a threadlocker has been used to set the fastener in place, it fills the gap and solidifies to form a tough thermoset plastic. This plastic is resistant to vibration and has strong polymeric chain properties which prevent any lateral movement.

We recommend: Permabond MM15 Threadlocker

3. Resistant to Environmental Factors

Locking threads and bolts can seize together when used in areas with humidity or high temperatures. They are also prone to corrosion and rusting, all of which affect the ability to disassemble the parts for future repair or rework. By implementing threadlockers, they act as a thread lubricant and seal the metals against corrosion.

Furthermore, threadlockers are resistant to extreme temperatures and exhibit high chemical resistance which ensures a strong, robust bond.

We recommend: Henkel Loctite 278 High Strength Threadlocker

4. Less Materials Required

The use of traditional mechanical locking devices requires the user to have a diverse selection of shapes and sizes to ensure there is one suitable for all application requirements. This isn’t an issue with threadlockers however as they are universally applicable to a wide range of substrates regardless of their structure. They also have a lower cost per unit during application when compared to using individual locking devices.

Furthermore, threadlocking adhesives are available in a range of different strengths to suit each application. Low and medium strength threadlockers allow for easy removal for rework using traditional hand tools, whilst high strength variations suit more permanent applications.

We recommend: Permabond HM129 Threadlocker

 Shop our wide range of threadlockers now.

Additional links:

At Ellsworth Adhesives, we supply a wide range of threadlockers from leading brands Henkel Loctite and Permabond. View our entire range of threadlockers here.

Unsure which threadlocker is right for you? Our Glue Doctor is available to answer any technical questions you may have. Simply fill out our enquiry form.