The introduction of the legislation – ‘Change in Enforcement Expectations for Mild Steel Welding Fume’ – earlier this year has led to a sharp increase in the need for companies purchasing the equipment to protect their workforces from harmful fumes present in welding processes.
This legal stipulation will mean investing in new equipment and could be a stretch for smaller companies trying to keep their competitive edge. This is further reason for companies to consider alternatives to expensive and time-consuming traditional bonding, joining and fixing processes.
One company that already provides an efficient alternative is tesa, whose double-sided tapes have proven to deliver enhanced performance levels and improved cost efficiencies, compared to traditional bonding techniques.
Adhesive tapes can eliminate stress concentration caused by spot welds, rivets, screws and other mechanical fasteners, while maintaining surface integrity, stated the company. “Where rivets or screw holes in a substrate concentrate the stress at the hole, potentially decreasing the physical properties of the substrate, adhesives spread the load over the entire bonded area. And often the use of adhesives is a more cost-effective method, providing time savings, as well as a more aesthetically-pleasing finish.”
The tesa team worked with a specialist in the design and manufacture of retail display equipment to find a replacement for its traditional bonding methods, such as welding, permanent mechanical fasteners and structural adhesives. As a result, tesa ACXplus 7074 and tesa ACXplus 7063 are now being used in the company’s manufacturing processes, resulting in quicker process times and improved cost efficiencies.
tesa has previously worked with a leading global supplier of engineered noise control products and testing services to find a solution in the manufacture of its acoustic panels and doors. Stiffeners to soundproof doors were traditionally joined inside the panels and doors by spot welding, leaving surface marks, which took extensive sanding and finishing to remove. Following intensive assessment, the tesa team concluded that tesa ACXplus 7074 provided a bonding strength to match spot welding, while minimising the production process, resulting in significant time savings for the customer.
Jeremy Smith, tesa UK Ltd trade marketing manager, commented: “Adhesive tapes are used in many visible and invisible ways, and are increasingly establishing themselves across a broad spectrum of industrial applications. Clean, light and strong, they simplify assembly operations and provide a better aesthetic finish. We are always willing to review current bonding applications and present customers with alternative ideas, if we feel we can help them to improve efficiency. The feedback we have received from companies that have used tesa ACXplus to replace rivets, welding and other mechanical fixings has been unanimously positive.”
