A unique two-component cartridge design from TAH industries is helping ITW/Devcon increase market share for a structural adhesive formulated for bonding the cellular PVC boards used in many of today's house trim applications.

Until recently, building contractors bonded PVC boards with single-component PVC cement in the familiar can/brush package - a messy, time-consuming job.  ITW originally developed their two-component structural acrylic adhesive for filling gaps and nail holes, but soon discovered it could be used to attach boards with a much stronger bond than PVC cement.

Dave Bongiorni is ITW’s Business Manager for SPC/Construction Products. He had initially considered 200ml side x side cartridges for packaging this product, but when he saw a demonstration of the u-TAH^TM Universal Cartridge by Craig Blum, TAH’s  Business Manager for Adhesive Packaging Systems, he immediately realized that it would be the perfect packaging option for this application.

TAH’s u-TAH Universal Cartridge features a unique in-line design that places one adhesive component behind the other, instead of in the traditional side-by-side configuration.  This allows two-component materials to be loaded into a one-component-sized package that is compatible with the standard industrial-grade 1/10 gal (310 ml) caulking guns found in virtually every contractor’s toolbox.

An internal can at the back half of the cartridge containing one of the components sits against a moveable piston that separates it from the other component in the front half of the cartridge. When the gun’s trigger is pulled, both components are simultaneously extruded through the cartridge outlet and into a TAH Turbo Mixer^TM.

TAH’s square Turbo Mixers feature a patented design that uses alternating left- and right-hand elements and intermittent flow inverters to channel fluid from the walls of the mixer into the center for complete blending. TAH Turbo Mixers are also significantly shorter than comparable spiral mixers, allowing the operator to get closer to the workpiece and minimizing waste by reducing the amount of material retained in the nozzle.

Because the TAH cartridge and nozzle system allowed contractors to use the same standard caulking guns they already had in their toolboxes for single-component jobs, Bongiorni anticipated it would expedite market acceptance and sales of his company’s new product.

ITW/Devcon’s new structural acrylic adhesive and TAH’s Universal Cartridge have been very well received by those who install the PVC trim.  Besides easier application and greater bond strength, contractors like the fact that they can use the standard heavy-duty caulking guns they already own instead of having to purchase expensive special-purpose tools.

Bongiorni notes that ITW/Devcon has been so pleased with the u-TAH Universal Cartridge’s acceptance and performance in the trim application that the company is looking into using it for packaging the epoxies and urethanes that finish carpenters use to build internal staircases.