Foam sealing is a process that involves applying a foam seal to a surface to prevent leakage, noise, vibration, or dust. Foam sealing is widely used in various industries, such as automotive, aerospace, and construction, to improve the quality and safety of products and components.
However, foam sealing can be challenging due to the low surface energy and contamination of some materials, which can reduce the adhesion strength and reliability of the foam seal.
Robafoam's CeraPUR foam seal is applied by robots to create watertight, noise-reducing, and protective joints on any substrate. However, to ensure optimal adhesion of the foam seal to the component surface, it needed a way to increase the surface energy and remove any contaminants.
That's where Henniker came in. Henniker is a UK-based company that specialises in plasma treatment systems and services. Plasma treatment is a fast and effective way to modify the surface properties of materials, enhancing their wettability, adhesion, and bonding performance. Plasma treatment can also clean and activate surfaces, removing any organic or inorganic contaminants that may interfere with the adhesion process.
Henniker offered Robafoam a free trial of the Cirrus Atmospheric System, which uses a low-temperature plasma jet that can treat various shapes and sizes of components, without damaging or altering their bulk properties. The plasma jet delivers a stream of reactive gas species that interact with the surface molecules, creating new functional groups that increase the surface energy and polarity. The plasma jet also removes any dust, grease or oils that may be present on the surface, leaving it clean and ready for the foam seal application.
Robafoam installed the Cirrus system at its site and tested it on different substrates and foam seal formulations. It found that the plasma treatment significantly improved the adhesion strength and durability of the foam seal, as well as its resistance to environmental factors such as humidity and temperature. The plasma treatment also reduced the curing time of the foam seal, increasing the productivity and efficiency of their process.
Satisfied with the results, Robafoam decided to purchase the Cirrus system from Henniker, which also provided support and advice throughout the trial period and beyond.
The company said: “We are very pleased with the assistance we got from Henniker since the beginning of our collaboration. They had the solution we were looking for and they were very helpful and friendly. We have built a strong partnership that we hope will last for a long time. Our main goal is to provide the best service to our customers, and we believe Henniker will be able to fully support us in achieving that.”
