NEW STRUCTURAL BONDERS HERALD A NEW ERA IN PRODUCT DESIGN AND ASSEMBLY

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Through its LOCTITE®, BONDERITE® and TECHNOMELT® brands, Henkel is world renowned as a leader in general and structural bonding, sealing, thread locking and sealing, gasketing and retaining. Yet despite the maturity of these core technologies they are all subject to continuous development and visitors to FAST 2017 will be introduced to a variety of products and upgrades.

The latest introduction from Henkel is another milestone for its LOCTITE® brand. The company has developed a new range of Universal Structural Bonders whose many attributes have been achieved through new, patented hybrid technology. This innovative approach substantially extends the application scope of these adhesives which also afford improved health and safety benefits.

They combine the qualities of different adhesives to achieve bond strength, speed and durability providing improved performance on a variety of substrates and the versatility to solve many more design and assembly challenges.

Structural bonding has been a tremendous force for change in the way products are designed and made. It allows materials to be selected for their respective performance qualities rather than their compatibility with the joining method; plastics, metals and composites can be freely combined.

The adhesive also creates uniform distribution over the entire bond face achieving a very positive effect on static and dynamic stress, contributing to the durability and reliability of the end-product. And as the join is relatively invisible, the aesthetics of the product are considerably enhanced.

Henkel’s hybrid technology combines these attributes with the fixturing and cure speed of an instant adhesive. The new LOCTITE® HY 4090 provides a good example of what these qualities mean to design engineers and the potential of the range to improve assembly applications, streamline process steps and bond materials in applications with difficult requirements.

LOCTITE® HY 4090 provides exceptional adhesion and strength on plastic/metal combinations and on rubber materials. Fast fixturing reduces assembly time and a robust cure is quickly achieved even at low temperature and when there is relatively large gaps between substrates.

This Universal Structural Bonder offers good impact, vibration, moisture and temperature resistance and as it able to withstand chemical attack, it is suitable for production lines that include a chemical process. The enhanced safety credentials of this adhesive - and all the others in this range - also contribute to its wider scope of application.

The well-balanced properties of LOCTITE® HY 4090 make it ideal for general assembly applications involving mixed substrates – especially moulded plastic/rubber or poorly fitting parts – in a high-volume, semi-automated or manual assembly line. Typical applications would be wire harness and gasket bonding, sealing and bonding LED lighting fixtures, motors and loudspeakers. The product is available in easy-to-use 50ml syringes and 400ml cartridges.

For more information on the new LOCTITE® Universal Structural Bonding range and Henkel’s patented hybrid technology go to: www.loctite.co.uk/limitless