Things you need to know about Adhesives and the substrates you're trying to bond.

As one can imagine there are endless applications for adhesives. There are also "traditionalists" in their trades who will never part with what they've always known to be true. In today's world, traditional bonding methods are challenged by new substrate materials, costs of labour, costs of tools and available space in which to produce their finished goods. Newer forms of adhesives offer an alternative to both traditional adhesive methods and mechanical fasteners. The evolution in the manufacturing of trains, planes, buses, furniture and even home construction materials has created a new generation of applications where screws, nuts, bolts, rivets, nail, staples, wood glues and even welding no longer work as well as they once did.

In the development of today's products, manufacturers are seeking to achieve three very basic principles: faster, lighter and stronger. Engineers have struggled to incorporate these three principles into their designs and in many cases they can achieve two of the three principles quite easily, but the third is often elusive or appears costly. With the advancement of technology and the introduction of what was once considered "space-age materials" into our everyday lives, the result is one critical issue for manufacturers to resolve: How do we assemble this?  The most cost-effective method in so many cases is "Adhesives". Not to be confused with your elementary school white glue, wood glues, or even the so-called “super glues” you buy at the hardware store. Today’s industrial adhesives are highly engineered materials and in many cases, most people wouldn't believe where these products are being used today.

One material that has troubled numerous manufacturers, including the furniture industry, is the broad use of MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard). The reality is that these products are essentially wood fibers blended with a bonding agent that once cured, hardens into a formed substrate that looks like wood. One very important aspect which is often overlooked is that a manufacturer might think they're bonding "wood to wood"… but are they?  The truth is, if anything, it's more likely a "plastic to plastic" application. Wood glue, by nature, soaks into the grains of the wood. Once cured, it’s usually very strong. MDF, however, has no grain and so the wood glue can't penetrate the material. It fills the joint but doesn't have a lot of strength. As a result manufacturers turn to mechanical fasteners (nails and staples) which are thought to be better. Why not use a better adhesive?

Cyanoacrylate adhesives, by comparison, have incredible strength and perform best when the bond line is very thin (you could read this as “less is more”). Testing usually results in what we call “substrate failure” (where the adhesive holds and the substrate breaks), not “adhesive failure”. Unfortunately, most people’s preconceived ideas about adhesives get in the way of a perfectly good (and practical) solution.

Similar to the MDF application, we visited a prospective client’s facility and discovered the current supplier had done a really good job of selling their wares (ie not necessarily the best product for the job).  In this situation the manufacturer was bonding a metal product to another substrate. The manufacturer was using a specialized structural adhesive specifically designed to bond raw "metal to metal".  However, it turned out that one of the substrates was a powder-coated metal component, so it wasn't a true "metal to metal" application. It was in fact, a "plastic to plastic" application. As it turned out, we were able to reduce the customer’s input costs by having them use one product for all their applications instead of two or three. Though this isn't typical, we do know users of adhesives who don't always know "why" they’re using them.

Again, it’s important to truly know what you're bonding! Still have questions?  You’re welcome to use our Contact Form and consult with our "Adhesive Systems" factory trained specialist to discuss your needs!

-Peter Atchison, Steeves Agencies Inc

On January 25, 2010, Winnipeg was hit with a blast of Arctic air, along with a LOT of snow, most which seemed to settle on or around our office.  NO PROBLEM!  We have our handy Toro snow blower to help dig us out! This machine’s been with the company so long, it has more seniority than 60% of our staff, so it’s not entirely surprising to find some of the parts on this machine are wearing out.

While in the process of cleaning our tiny parking lot, I noticed the chute (where the snow is ejected from the machine) was wobbling around, and about to fall off.  Upon further inspection, I discovered that the chute is attached to a sort of welded flange.  This flange is welded to the main body of the snow blower, and after years of use a section of the flange had broken off.

Peter, our Salesman and resident adhesives expert suggested we glue it back together.  So that’s what we did!  After all, we stand behind our adhesives, right?

So we took a few minutes to discuss the details of our application:  Will this MP55310 bond metal to metal?  Turns out it’s not necessarily bonding “metal” to “metal”, since these are painted parts.  We did NOT remove the paint, so technically this is a ‘paint to paint’ bond.  Stay tuned for an upcoming article on “What Are You REALLY Bonding” for some good information on adhesives.

Anyway, back to the story.   e gathered the materials we needed to make our repair:

• MP55310 Methacrylate Adhesive from ASI®
• Manual Dispensing gun
• Short Mixing Tube
• C-clamps
• disposable putty knife
• plastic gloves
• disposable shop rags/paper towels for cleanup

We removed the chute from the snow blower to allow easy access to the flange.  We used a wire brush to clean around the flange and particularly the damaged area from any loose debris or dirt.  We then positioned the flange section and began applying the adhesive all around the chute opening, making sure to fill the break completely.

Once the glue was applied, I used a putty knife to smooth out the adhesive on the underside of the flange (and to remove any excess).  After 30 minutes, the adhesive was already beginning to cure.

AND THE RESULTS…

The very next day, I re-assembled the machine, fired it up, and moved a mountain of snow in –30C temperature.  The glue had been curing for just over 18 hours, and it held fast.

Want to know how our repair is holding up? Want to try this on your own?  Use our Contact Form and ask for an update or for some product information.

UPDATE!  - March 19, 2010

Well, the snow is almost gone now but we’ve had two major snowfalls since this article was posted.  I’m proud to say that the repair is holding up beautifully!  No signs of loosening of the bonded parts, no flexing, bending, chipping or peeling.  It’s a sight to behold!

In fact, today we had some visitors come to the office to see for themselves!  Yup, they heard that we’d repaired our snowblower’s discharge chute with glue, and they just had to see it with their own eyes.  They were amazed!

So there you have it.  You CAN repair painted metal parts with a methacrylate adhesive from ASI.  Awesome stuff.

You’d be surprised at the number and variety of applications where adhesives could be used instead of staples, screws, or other mechanical fastening methods.  Our line of high-performance Adhesives will astound you.  Why would  you use an adhesive instead of, say, a nail?  A nail only provides support where it is installed.  Adhesives provide a structural bond along the entire bonded surface, providing a cleaner, better, stronger attachment.

From picture frames to kayaks and hot tubs, consider adhesives as an economical, quick and dependable solution for your manufacturing!

Call us today or use our Contact Form and our Adhesives specialist will contact you to discuss your application.

Understandably, most people don’t associate these two things together: “The Golden Boy”, the aptly named statue that adorns our Manitoba Legislature and “adhesives”.  You may recall that about 4 years ago the Golden Boy was temporarily removed from his perch so that repair crews could repair some weather damage that he’d been suffering, while also taking the opportunity to repair the footing on which he stands.

Mike, a good customer of ours and owner of Oakwood Industries (manufacturer of some of the world’s best trailers, by the way) was fortunate to be involved in the delicate handling of the iconic statue as he (the statue, not Mike) came down from his perch in a custom made lift cage.  Very cool stuff.  Mike happened to mention that many of the bricks in the structure of the legislature were being replaced at the same time and that the builders were using adhesives to make sure the new bricks stayed in place.  While I was surprised to hear this, it made perfect sense!  What a great idea!

With advancements in adhesives these days, there’s no reason why you can’t use glue to replace bricks in a building.  There’s less and less reason to use screws or bolts in utility trailers anymore!  It’s hard to believe because we’re all so accustomed to a certain way of doing things, but it’s time to start thinking outside the box.  Architects and Engineers are always looking for better, lighter, simpler, more accessible technologies to design buildings, cars, buses, RV’s and all of the things we use every day.  Adhesives are rapidly becoming the tool of choice where quick, dependable and invisible fastening is required.

If you use screws or bolts in your products, or if you’d like to explore new manufacturing processes that speed up production and reduce assembly cost, we can help.  Call us at 1-800-318-1119, and our adhesives specialist will be happy to discuss your needs.