Sticky Stuff
The other evening I attended a talk arrange by the IET on Adhesives. The presenter was Edwin Eve of 3M and as well as giving us an overview of all the different products and brands that 3M are involved in he also looked at some of the industrial, construction and automotive uses of some of their products. Edwin explained in detail about the VHB™ tape and we played with some bonded items, it’s an interesting material.
For me one of the most interesting points was the deciding factors that determine which adhesive to select.
Things to consider:
- Materials to bond and their properties, e.g. are they attacked by particular solvents?
- Physical conditions such as bond strength, vibration, flexibility
- Environmental conditions such as temperature changes, indoor/outdoor, water proof?
- Assembly criteria, do the parts mate or is there a gap? how fast does it need to set?
If you have specific needs then you can use the adhesive and tape product selector on the 3M site but bear in mind that many of the products may not be available in your local DIY store.
I also found the fun site “This to That” glue advice site which has a simple menu to select glues based on the materials to join. It also has glue news and links to other interesting adhesive based sites.
Metal sculpture in brass, mounted on an 1800s French Coin
