Mixing and Measuring Adhesives
Re-stir all products before use and carefully weigh out the resins and hardeners separately before mixing. Mix thoroughly. Improper measuring or mixing can cause materials not to cure, soft spots, air voids, sticky surfaces, softening at elevated temperatures and changes in properties.		 Thinning Adhesives for Application
Epoxy formulations can be thinned with mild heat or epoxy thinner 105RT to ease flow, create a thinner bond line or facilitate encapsulation.
Bonding Dissimilar Materials
Select adhesive with a thermal expansion coefficient that closely matches the materials to be bonded. When possible select a flexible epoxy. Clean thoroughly and mechanically roughen the surfaces prior to bonding. Cure materials at room temperature and at 120ºC.		 Removing Bubbles in Potting Materials
You can reduce the amount of entrapped air by warming epoxies prior to application or by vacuum degassing (apply pressure of 29 in Hg for 2 minutes and then release).
Recommended Bond Line Thickness
For standard epoxy and ceramic adhesives a bond line thickness of 0.127mm to 0.203mm will produce excellent results. For non-sag putties (epoxy or ceramic), bonds of 0.50mm or more can be used. To form a thick layer or section, apply putty in several layers curing between each application.		 Working with Conductive Adhesives
Electrically and Thermally conductive adhesives will provide optimum results after a post-cure for 2 hours at 120ºC. Electrically conductive materials are also available in flexible versions to accommodate bonding substrates with different thermal expansions.
Joint Design and Bond Strength
Butt joints are usually the weakest, inserted joints (e.g. tongue & groove, rod & tube), are the strongest. For repair and difficult applications, use a metal rod or ceramic cloth buried in the glue line for reinforcement.		 Cracking Ceramic Solutions
Cracked and weak castings, encapsulations or adhesive bonds can occur when using ceramic materials if excess activator or additional water has been added to the uncured mixtures.
Bonding to Teflon, Nylon, Polyolefin and
Plastics
Specific surface treatments and/or etching are required for bonding these plastics. The range offers flexible and activated epoxies that form strong adhesive bonds to many of these difficult-to-bond materials.		 Accelerating Cure Time
The best way to shorten the cure cycle is to raise the temperature. Typically most systems can be quickly cured at 120ºC. Please check each product’s data sheet or label for specific instructions and recommendations.
Preventing Flow of an Adhesive from a Joint
Select an adhesive with high viscosity or with thixotropic properties and use just enough adhesive to completely fill the gap between the
two surfaces to be bonded.		 Modifying Existing Formulations
The user can adjust formulations to provide variables such as viscosity, gel time, curing characteristics plus lap shear strength, peel strength, flexibility, chemical stability, heat resistance, impact strength, colour etc.
Special Packaging for Production
We can supply materials in pre-measured units and in bulk quantities to facilitate the use of these systems in any production facility or field
application.