Surface cleanliness is a critical prerequisite to bonding. Finding a cleaning protocol for your material, however, can be both exhaustive and confusing. Not only is a standard of cleanliness needed for your product, your methods need to comply with restrictions imposed by regulatory bodies such as the EPA and FDA. To add to the complication new limitations are constantly enforced as solvents and chemistries are determined to be user and environmental hazards.
Plasma cleaning is a dry, solvent free technology used to precision clean surfaces. Plasma cleaning removes surface contamination at the molecular level following machining, tooling and wet chemical processing steps. Plasma precision cleaning is a conformal process, not only for substrates of complex geometries but also on textured surfaces with rough topographies. Since plasma cleaning is a dry, gaseous process there are none of the liabilities associated with wet chemistry, such as chemical storage and waste disposal, evolving restrictions on the use of dangerous solvents, solvent absorption into product, etc. Plasma technology is not just a green alternative to wet chemistry, it can also compliment it as a final cleaning step following a gross decontamination using wet processes.
Silicone is a thermoplastic that responds well to gas plasma treatment. Its inherently low surface energy and poor polarizability means the surface cannot provide enough energy to bond with adherents such as adhesives and inks. Gas plasma surface treatment solves this problem by increasing silicone surface energies. This is achieved by the addition or substitution of polar chemical groups onto the surface. This process is known as plasma activation. It does not weaken, damage or discolor the polymer surface in any way. Plasma is a good alternative to chemical solvent based primer treatments that may be toxic or hazardous, especially for medical devices that come in contact with biological interfaces. The surface activation encourages wetting or wicking of the adhesive over the whole surface.
To request an adhesion promotion application request for your material, follow the link provided: https://www.pvateplaamerica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/sample_form-3.pdf
For more information about plasma technology at PVA TePla America, follow the provided link for a video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XqM_IECKa8
Strength of Bond:
Sometimes strength of bond is the most critical characteristic in choosing an adhesive. Depending on how the load is applied to the bond, the factor to look for in an adhesive is either tensile strength or shear strength.
Stiffness or Flexibility of Bond:
For some applications, a bond needs to be extremely stiff to maintain positioning, or on the other hand, very flexible to withstand strains in operation. For many applications, including strain gauge applications, the level of stiffness required in the adhesive depends on the levels of expected strain. If this characteristic is the primary constraint in the application, look at the Young’s modulus (E) for the adhesive.
Operating Environment Variables:
Environmental variables can include temperature, moisture, and vibration, among other characteristics. Temperature is often the most critical, especially when extreme temperatures (either hot or cold) are required. Fatigue strength, or the ability to maintain strength characteristics after cyclic loading, can also be a critical constraint.
UV Adhesives, Sealants, Encapsulants and Coatings for general and medical applications: www.emiuv.com
Permabond offers an extensive range of anaerobic adhesives and sealants (threadlockers, retaining compounds, pipe sealants and gasketing adhesives), cyanoacrylate (instant adhesive), epoxy, acrylic and UV-curable adhesives (ideal for glass bonding). www.permabond.com/
Curing Processes:
Different types of adhesives require different curing processes. Some can cure at air temperature, while others may require elevated temperatures for a period of time. Others require strong UV light for curing. Some curing methods may not be feasible, especially if the adhesive is used in the field, and outside the controlled environment of a laboratory. Understand the environment in which the adhesive will be applied, and select an adhesive with a curing process that can be used in that environment.
For UV curing solutions contact the following company: www.americanultraviolet.com
