Category: reference

The fixture time for an adhesive (sometimes called the set time) is the shortest time required by the adhesive to develop handling strength such that substrates can be removed from fixtures, unclamped, or handled without stressing the bond – stress which might affect the ultimate bond strength. We can define handling strength as a (relatively) […]

The curing of materials like adhesives, coating, encapsulants, potting compounds, temporary masking materials or gaskets with UV light offers many process advantages, and can deliver productivity enhancements to manufacturers. The ability of the technology to deliver full cure in seconds (rather than minutes or hours) is a prime example. The materials are predominantly single part […]

The Dymax white paper Ensuring Success When Switching from Conventional Lamp to LED Light Curing Sources discusses topics such as how LED curing works, the advantages of LED curing, and getting enough information to switch successfully. LEDs, or light emitting diodes, continue to gain popularity as a replacement for traditional light bulbs, not only in homes […]

Getting your product ATEX certified for use in explosive environments can be a challenging process. If your ATEX protection concept depends on a potting compound, then the certification body will have a number of technical and commercial demands of you, the material, and the material supplier/manufacturer. Our latest White Paper, ATEX Certification for Electronics Potting […]

Our new An Introduction to Time/Pressure Dispensing guide is a clear, simple overview for engineers needing to quickly understand this area of dispensing, or to use as a training aid for operators and new colleagues. Time/pressure dispensing lets you apply a wide range of liquid or paste materials by using a dispensing controller to apply […]

If you ever thought about improving the manual application of your adhesives, oils, greases, solder pastes, sealants, inks or any other liquid or paste, then download a copy of our latest Technology Guide: An Introduction to Time/Pressure Dispensing. It talks about the advantages of this simple technology over brushing, daubing or squeeze bottles. The Guide […]

We were very pleased to see that our latest White Paper, Designing-in Light Curing Adhesives, has been published on the leading industry website adhesives.org.

Designing-in Light Curing Adhesives – this new authoritative white paper addresses the concepts around UV and visible light curing adhesives, starting with the design function. Design engineers will earn the gratitude of their production engineering colleagues if they can specify or allow for a light curing adhesive. In addition to performance advantages like distribution of load […]

Our great friends at FAST (Fastening & Assembly Solutions And Technology) were kind enough to give recent editorial space in their indispensable magazine to a piece we have written about how to design your product so that UV/visible light curing adhesives can be used – and to be able to take advantage of the process and […]

We were quite excited when we came back from our Christmas break to find out that our article 25 Top Dispensing Tips has been listed on The Engineer’s Supplier Network as one of their top 10 for the year. If you haven’t read it yet, please get a copy from our website!

The problem – Occasionally, we get a call from a customer saying that there is “something wrong” with the epoxy he bought from us. One of the constituents of the two part system (usually part “A”, the resin) has become cloudy, milky, has crystals in it, has become lumpy or slushy, or has even become solidified. The […]

A recent adhere academy post discussed the modulus of elasticity of materials. Closely linked to that is another physical factor which we often quote on product data sheets: hardness. One way to define the hardness of a material is its resistance to permanent indentation. We all know that rubber balls are soft, and rock is hard, […]

Losses from scrap in production of high value mechanical components is a vital consideration in improving quality and efficiency of manufacture; fortunately, we have available the DYMAX family of solvent free UV curable SpeedMask masking resins which offer significant improvements in reliability, worker safety, ease of use, quality of process outcome and actual piece part […]

Many of our material product data sheets (PDS) will quote a number for the modulus of elasticity. The modulus of elasticity is a number which represents the material’s tendency to be deformed elastically (i.e. non-permanently, recovering original size and shape) when a force is applied to it.  A stiffer material will have a higher modulus of elasticity, […]

I was struck by this graphic from Huntsman Advanced Materials, manufacturers of the iconic Araldite range of structural adhesives. Choosing the optimal product to evaluate for your application can involve thinking about many factors, including environmental resistance, substrates to be bonded, cure speed, etc. This chart clearly illustrates how the physical properties of strength and […]

Two new selector guides are available, detailing our extensive range of DYMAX adhesives for bonding needles and catheters. The guides contain technical details about the wide range of adhesives available for these specific applications, as well as curing and dispensing information, and joint design advice. The selector guides are available from us in hard copy, […]

We are absolutely delighted to have had one of our technical articles about precision dispensing published in this month’s FAST magazine.  FAST magazine is the UK’s fastening, adhesives and assembly journal for manufacturing professionals. The article concerns the endless piston pump technology which features in our preeflow range of precision dispensers. You can download a pdf facsimile, or have […]

Araldite have launched an Adhesives App to assist you in making a choice from their range of industrial structural adhesives. The range contains a selection of adhesives from the latest epoxy, polyurethane, methacrylate and silane-terminated polymers technologies. They are available in a variety of packaging, including easy-to-use cartridges with static mixers and working packs for manual […]

We are very pleased to announce that we have signed a distribution agreement with expert German adhesives manufacturer, Polytec PT. Polytec PT offers a range of high technology adhesive products for micro-electronics, hybrid circuits, chip-on-board (COB), LEDs, component manufacture, displays, flexible circuitry, shielding, medical devices and optics/opto-electronics. The range consists of: Electrically conductive adhesives Thermally […]

Just added to our webpage Technical Bulletins, White Papers & Articles – a new white paper entitled The “Endless Piston” Pump – Technology for Precision Dispensing. It discusses the technology behind our preeflow eco-PEN precision volumetric, positive displacement, dosing/dispensing systems. Why don’t you have a quick read?

In recent years, there as been a great deal of interest  in the use of LED technology for the curing of UV and visible light reactive adhesives and coatings. LED lamps can offer a number of benefits over the traditional and well understood mercury-based arc lamps, including significantly more stable output, instant on/off and no […]

Congratulations to old friends and sales partners Techspray, who have a new website. We have been successfully working with them for many years selling both Techspray and Plato products. These include the best quality desoldering braid, freezers and dusters, wipes, swabs, brushes, conformal coatings, temporary masks and cleaning chemistries. The Plato range includes solder pots […]

… is the title of our article just published in the November/December 2010 issue of Industrial Plant & Equipment magazine. Read how benchtop robots achieve a high level of functionality, are readily available, simple to implement and inexpensive.

Our range of dispensing equipment includes automatic, semi-automatic and robotic systems, hand held guns and all the consumables users are ever likely to need for their adhesives or other liquids like inks, coatings, greases or oils. So in order to help production engineers, we are offering a free download of 25 Top Dispensing Tips – […]

We have an article published in FAST magazine, out today. Entitled Getting Stuck on Adhesives, we answer frequently asked questions about the curing of adhesives used in structural bonding. Ask us for a copy; or ask for a subscription to the magazine!

A mention for an old friend, Jeff Ferry, and his colleagues at Circuitmart. Circuitmart features industry experts, consultants and entrepreneurs discussing the latest in technology and innovations in electronics manufacturing, and other associated areas. Many of the programs are video-based. Have a look at their website, and try a subscription to the newsletter.

How to make a good adhesive bond? There are many factors to take into account beyond selecting the optimal adhesive, including joint design and application process. We have a Users Guide to Adhesives which tackles some of these key topics, which you are welcome to download. Surface preparation is one of those key topics. We […]

A bumper issue of FAST magazine arrived this week, its content bolstered by an article from us. Improving Industrial Dispensing with Pneumatic Dispensing Valves discussed what improvements you can get by moving from simple pressure dispensing to a valve. You can download the article from our Technical Bulletins & Articles page.

We have just updated our Technical Bulletins & Articles page to include a downloadable copy of a very useful overview guide to adhesives. The guide sets out to remove the reservations that engineers sometimes have about adhesives. It includes a survey of modern adhesives and shows how joints should be designed and pre-treated in order […]