Adhesives, also known as glue, are a generic term for cement, mucilage, or paste; they include non-metallic substances designed to hold, seal, and bond two items by applying them over single or both surfaces. These adhesives offer extreme sealing applications that resist separation with high bond strength. They are made from a combination of excellent chemical substances, and their bond strength depends on their adhesion and cohesion properties.
Depending on the adhesive types, they offer permanent, semi-permanent, and temporary attachment applications in a range of applications. Enrgtech offers multiple adhesives in various package types, such as bottles, cans, cartridges, pens, syringes, bags, tins, and tubes, from the leading manufacturers.
Advantages of Adhesive Bonding:
There are several advantages of adhesive bonding, such as:
- Even stress distribution over joints
- Easy mechanization, automation, and cost-effectiveness of processing
- Bonding flexibility across varied surfaces
- Impressive freedom of designs
- Corrosion protection.
- Waterproof adhesive
- Flex, heat, chemical, and vibration resistant.
- Improved aesthetics and durability.
What Is the Working Principle of Adhesives?
This common question requires complex adhesive chemistry and is not fully understood. However, they operate using principles of cohesion and adhesion. These glues are chemically composed of polymers, molecule chains that bind to other substances and each other. They must be self-adhesive to avoid tear and shear under hard conditions like pressure and weights. To maintain their sealant applications, they are supplied with water during their manufacturing process to resist hardening. The incorporated water evaporates after exposure to the air to maintain its sticking capabilities.
Adhesive Categories:
The latest adhesive products are classified into the following three categories.
- Water-Based/Dispersion Adhesives
Water-based adhesives come in dry powder or solution forms mixed with water. After applying over the surfaces, the water evaporates, leaving the polymers (water-soluble) to coagulate within adhesive bonds. White school glue, starch glue, and latex glue are examples of bespoke adhesives.
These adhesive types include solutions of polymers in liquid form that evaporate when applied on surfaces allowing the glue to harden off for bonding.
- Polymer-Based/Emulsion Adhesives
Typically, these glues are suitable for gluing wood and are milky-white in colour with strong bonding polymers (like polyvinyl acetate; PVA). These glues are susceptible and melt at high temperatures; however, they retain their structure once cooled.
How Many Types of Adhesives Are There?
Adhesives come in many different types with specific applications for specific environments. Some commonly known glues include glue sticks, super glue, flexible plastic glue, contact glue, clear strong glue, ceramic glue, gorilla glue for shoes and PVC, and more that fall within domestic brands. There are also highly specialized and branded adhesives for manufacturing applications and include:
- Acrylic Adhesive
- Anaerobic Adhesive
- Cyanoacrylate Adhesive
- Contact Adhesive
- Epoxy Adhesive
- Hot Glue Adhesive
- Hybrid Adhesives
- Polyurethane Adhesive
- Phenolic Adhesive
- Polyimide Adhesive
- Polyvinyl Acetate Adhesive
- Pressure-Sensitive Adhesive
- Silicone Adhesive
- Spray Adhesive
- Thermal Adhesive
Adhesive Applications:
Despite their repairing applications in domestic settings, they are widely employed for binding together a range of components and parts in domestic, commercial, and industrial environments. Furthermore, they also act as sealants for creating a protective coating over various surfaces in different engineering applications. Some of their applications include:
- Artwork
- Laser copy paper bonding
- Electrical applications
- Thermal management
- Multipurpose applications
- Sealing applications
- Aesthetics
- Design solutions
- Asbestos, hardboard, glass, Bakelite, metal, wood, stones.
