The kit includes three adhesives in 10 ml syringes, alongside the IUV101 LED UV Spot Lamp for Handheld UV Light Curing. This device has a 2,000 mW/cm2 light intensity, which users can focus on the exact spot where cure is required. The kit also contains wipes, dispensing needles, PPE, and some helpful guides to best practice when using a process.
- The first material, Dymax 215-CTH-SV01-UR-SC is used for plastic bonding, such as in catheter assembly. It includes Encompass technology, meaning the material is red fluorescing, and also turns from blue to colourless upon cure, which helps make inspection processes easier. The material bonds well to medical plastics, including: ABS, PA, PC, PCTG, PEBA, PEI, PET, PETG, PI, PMMA, PS, PSU, PU, PVC, SAN, TPU, and AL.
- The second material, Dymax 1405-M-T-UR-SC, is suitable for metal to glass bonding, as well as metal to plastic assembly, and is commonly used in needle bonding. Also formulated with Encompass technology, the material can be cured at both long wave UV and 405 nm visible light. It bonds to a range of medical plastics, including ABS, PC, PCTG, PEI, PETG, PMMA, PS, PSU, PU, PVC, SAN, TPU, and SS.
- The third material, Dymax 1181-M is used as a medical device adhesive and coating, such as during the assembly of medical electronics. The material bonds to PC, CAP, PVC, PS, PETG, and ABS.
UV curable adhesives are growing in use due to their process and productivity benefits. Materials are said to cure in seconds on demand on exposure to the correct wavelength of UV light, speeding up the process compared with other adhesive chemistries. In addition, UV curing adhesives require no special application equipment, are single part, and available in a range of viscosities. They also lend themselves well to an automated process, as dispensing and cure is readily controlled and repeatable.
However, those manufacturing medical devices first need to establish the process will be reliable and repeatable before reaping the benefits of this adhesive technology. To help, Intertronics selected the three adhesives for the kit to be suitable candidates for ~80% of potential applications. Those using these test materials can do their process development and establish whether a UV curing material may work for their application.