Posted to News on 30th Apr 2013, 15:02
New elastic adhesive allows instant handling
Henkel Terostat silane-modified polymers are useful where an elastic bond is required between medium to large bond surfaces. They create friction-locked joints able to withstand dynamic loads. And as the stress is distributed evenly, material fatigue and failure is prevented. As a result these adhesives are widely used to bond any structures that need to withstand vibration such as washing machines, buses and trains.
Achieving the bond, however, generally requires the elements to be held together in a clamping system or fixture until the adhesive has cured sufficiently for the structure to hold its own weight. Whilst this is acceptable for many applications, others require a quicker fix and this is where the new and innovative Henkel Terostat MS 500 hot melt sealant really comes into its own.
This patented adhesive is based on modified silane polymer technology but it takes this class of products into a whole new realm of potential application.
In a matter of seconds this thixotropic adhesive "grabs' the marrying substrate, creating high initial bond strength that allows immediate handling. As it dries it cross-links through moisture absorption, curing in as little as 20 or 30 minutes. Terostat MS 500 effectively compensates for the differing thermal expansion characteristics of dissimilar materials and remains flexible over a wide temperature range.
From a manufacturing standpoint, Terostat MS 500 has the ability to reduce production time and costs whilst improving product performance and aesthetics. It also saves on the overall weight of the structure, creates an effective seal and generally requires no substrate priming to optimise adhesion.
In common with the majority of Henkel products, Terostat MS 500 was developed to meet the needs of a specific application, bonding and sealing crystalline solar modules. The qualities already described, in combination with resistance to UV and weather extremes, certainly make it well suited for this task.
Application specialists at Henkel in Hemel Hempstead, however, recognised this product's wider potential. And one of the first UK applications for which it has proved suitable is bonding and sealing caravan panels. The caravan manufacturer concerned was already using flexible structural bonding technology but needed to screw panels to struts as a support mechanism during the curing process. Thanks to Terostat MS 500 and its ability to provide an instant bond, the screws are no longer needed. Not only does this eliminate a process and save costs, it also improves the quality of the end product as there are no screw holes to create leak paths.
The need to bond large panels onto struts, to create structures that are exposed to vibration, extends across many manufacturing sectors: building, white goods and transport to name but three. Henkel Terostat MS 500 is therefore expected to have wide appeal throughout industry for applications that call for an instant but flexible bond. For more information about Terostat silane-modified polymers from Henkel, please go to www.loctite.co.uk.
