In industrial manufacturing, short cycle times and a fast, reliable production process is critical.
Between the beginnings in the 50s when light-curing adhesives were mainly used in the furniture industry, through the first boom in the field of printing inks in the 70s, up to today’s high-tech applications in a wide variety of industries, lies a rapid development which is still in progress. Therefore, adhesives cured by light have become indispensable for many users.
Curing of adhesives with UV light or visible light is a photo-chemical process. Therefore, adhesives cured by radiation are also called photoinitiated-curing adhesives. In the family of photoinitiated-curing adhesives, one distinguishes between two basically dissimilar basis materials (acrylates and epoxy resins) and the reaction mechanisms associated with them. In their liquid state, radial-curing acrylates as well as cationically polymerizing epoxies provide a multitude of properties to ensure simple and reliable handling.
Examples of use:
- Bonding of miniature loudspeakers in cell phones
- Bonding of automotive cameras
- Dam&Fill chip encapsulation
- Bonding of ONSERT connection elements
- Bonding and sealing of automotive sensors
- Optical bonding: Bonding of touch panel displays of iPhones and iPads
- Aluminum door hinges for glass shower enclosures
- Bonding of electric motors
Advantages of the light-curing adhesives:
- Simple and reliable process thanks to one-component nature (no mixing system necessary -> no mixing errors)
- Fast curing in just seconds (short cycle times)
- Curing without adding temperature (energy-saving) -> Processing of temperature-sensitive components
- ″Curing on demand″ -> Adhesive only cures after being irradiated with light) -> Precise positioning and fixing of the components to be bonded
- Curing also in shadowed areas (disparate product types with second curing mechanism)
- Solvent-free -> Environmentally friendly and health-friendly
- High reliability
- Outstanding visual appearance
- Excellent adhesion
- Simple transport and storage