Adhesives & Sealants Industry Top Stories

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Adhesive selectors, whether published guides or human, typically begin with determining which adhesive product or products will adhere to the substrate. That approach is necessary for repair applications, and may even be necessary for fixing a production issue on-the-fly. Engineers working in assembly need to consider the functionality of the device first. Adjusting substrate materials, processes, or joint designs may also be considered, but not automatically required. Next, testing to verify performance is necessary—and strongly recommended.

Assembly industry enthusiasts will connect at The Assembly Show, taking place October 24-26 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Ill. Returning for a fifth year, the event will offer three days of educational sessions, hundreds of exhibiting companies, thousands of industry professionals—including buyers and users of assembly equipment, products or services in manufacturing plants—a dynamic keynote speaker, and two networking receptions.

Adhesive and sealant manufacturers and end users are always looking for a competitive edge. Faced with a bewildering number of formulation choices and risk/reward tradeoffs, they can end up getting left behind as technologies advance, or make a technical or business mistake if they are too aggressive. There are literally hundreds of raw materials to choose from, a long process to validate and verify new ingredients, and precious little time for internally driven product development projects.

Acrylic adhesives offer the advantages of increased cost efficiencies, better aesthetics and improved impact resistance compared to other methods for the assembly of complex structures. Recently, new acrylic technology has been developed that offers superior lap-shear strength, high elongation and high bake resistance, as well as excellent failure mode across difficult-to-bond metal substrates. These “next-generation” acrylic adhesives are ideal for meeting the rigorous demands in various manufacturing and fabricating segments, including commercial vehicles, wind and energy equipment, and industrial equipment.

LyondellBasell receives the European Innovation Award for its Koattro KT MR05 plastomer.

Aerospace designers and manufacturers are forming partnerships with a variety of component fabricators along with universities and research groups to develop new designs.