A 100-year-old company that develops automation solutions for the electronics, battery, semiconductor and automotive industries needed to bond components of a sensor together. The business relies on the implementation of high-quality sensors, identification and image processing and network technology and software to create high-tech automated systems for their end customers.
A specific application required bonding a small glass window on to a polyamide injection-moulded LED optical housing, for a photoelectric barrier. The company wanted to replace a two-part epoxy, move from a manual to a robotic dispensing process, have a higher reproducibility rate and reduce scrap. Additionally, the finished parts needed to maintain structural integrity for five years and have flexibility to endure temperature-induced stresses.
The customer contacted Dymax to see what product might help the company achieve these objectives. It was only interested in an adhesive recommendation, but had an additional request for the company to do its own internal trials and qualification of the material. Dymax Application Engineering and the Inside Sales Team worked together with the customer on the dissimilar-materials substrate assembly, and proposed using Dymax 431 UV/visible light-curable adhesive for glass, plastic, and metal bonding.
Designed for high-temperature and high-moisture environments, 431 cures in seconds and maintains superior adhesion and flexibility. The versatile product exhibits low shrinkage, resulting in reduced stress on bond lines and larger cured surfaces. To support the company’s internal testing trials, the team suggested using the Dymax 5000-PC flood-curing system at a cure time of 65s in combination with a robotic bead dispenser that applied material in a 4.5mm-diameter circle.
By choosing Dymax 431 adhesive, the customer was able to reduce processing time by two hours due to the fast-curing characteristics of the material unlike epoxies, which require a much longer cure time before parts can be moved to the next assembly step. 431 is a one-component adhesive that requires no mixing prior to robotic dispensing, unlike a two-part epoxy, resulting in less waste and WIP.
Additionally, the ability of 431 to bond polyamide and glass together provides some flexibility to the assembled components to compensate for induced stresses that can happen between bonded dissimilar materials. The superior strength of the adhesive and resistance to high-temperature and high-moisture environments will add to the longevity and structural integrity of the finished sensor.
Since the material is solvent-free and environmentally-friendly, there are no special requirements for disposal. By using the Dymax 431 adhesive in their process, the company reduced the overall processing time and scrap rate, and increased throughput.
Dymax adhesives are distributed in the UK by Intertronics and Ellsworth Adhesives.
