Advice
Friday, December 07, 2012
Technical Support & Ongoing Development
Our European Technical centre offers full support & service for all our customer’s technical requirements. At Rushden we have a fully equipped laboratory that enables us to perform testing on our customer’s own substrates. This is an important element during the adhesive selection process as there are many potential variations in substrates and surface chemistries.
Typical testing includes Lap Shear, Cleavage Peel and Charpy Impact which can be tested under control conditions, at various temperatures and humidity.
Running alongside the Technical Centre is the European R & D department, providing continuous improvements to existing products and new groundbreaking product developments. Our R & D not only ensures ITW Plexus is at the forefront of the latest industry developments it also makes sure our customers benefit from superior range of products to cover all their needs.
For any Technical enquiry please do not hesitate to contact the Technical Department -
Posted by Gurpreet Pawar, Marketing Executive, Rushden, UK
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Friday, November 02, 2012
Surface Preparation - Metals
Metals typically require some surface preparation prior to bonding with most adhesives in order to improve adhesion.
Degreasing the metal surface is essential in order to remove any oil or grease. If this is not removed it can prevent a good adhesive bond. Cleaning after any surface treatment is also important as any excess residue or debris on the surface will again affect the adhesive bond strength.
The main methods of metal surface preparation are:
1. Solvent cleaning – A solvent is applied to the surface to dissolve the contaminate material. This can be accomplished by a Solvent dip, Solvent wipe, Vapour degreasing or Ultrasonic Cleaning.
2. Chemical cleaning – More severe than solvent cleaning, chemical cleaning removes contaminants from the surface by harsh chemicals. Hot Alkaline Cleaning, Pickling & Etching are three types of Chemical Cleaning.
3. Conversion – Surface cleaning through a conversion process changes the original surface into a new material. Three types of conversion are Phosphating, Chromating & Anodizing.
4. Priming – Some adhesives require a primer to be applied prior to bonding.
5. Abrasion – Light abrasion of the surface gives a better key to the adhesive than a high polish. Freshly abraded surfaces usually are better for achieving good bond strength. Brushing & Blasting are the most common methods.
When bonding stainless steel or aluminium in the laboratory ITW Plexus typically cleans the surfaces with acetone and applies a thin film of PC120 primer/conditioner (except when using MA830 and MA832). PC120 is a primer/conditioner designed to improve the long term durability of Plexus adhesives when used for adhering aluminium and stainless steel assemblies.
Please note that this is a general guide to surface preparations used in the market. Due to many potential variations in substrates and surface chemistries, ITW Plexus strongly recommends all substrates be tested with selected adhesive in the anticipated service conditions to determine suitability.
Please contact our Technical Department at
if you have any questions.
Posted by Gurpreet Pawar, Marketing Executive, Rushden, UK
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Friday, October 19, 2012
Adhesives V Traditional Methods – Metals
Adhesives are an alternative method of joining metals. Traditional methods include welding, soldering, riveting, nut & bolts.
What do adhesives offer over the more traditional methods?
1. Ease of use – no specialised training
2. Cosmetic appearance – smooth surface contour
3. Speed – can reduce labour time
4. Bond dissimilar materials - such as metals to composite or plastic
5. Stresses distributed over a wider area – low stress concentrations
6. Lighter weight – reducing the weight of the final assembly
7. Seal against corrosion and adhesive will not corrode
8. Excellent fatigue properties
The advantages listed are based on Plexus adhesives and will vary between the different adhesive technologies available.
ITW Plexus offer a wide range of adhesive bonding solutions for a number of industry applications.
Posted by Gurpreet Pawar, Marketing Executive, Rushden, UK
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Friday, February 03, 2012
Adhesive Groups
The list below provides a brief summary of the adhesive groups.
Heat-Cured Adhesives:
These include any adhesives which must be heated to promote curing.
Holding Adhesives:
Holding adhesives are used to hold surfaces together, but not permanently. They do not have to withstand a great deal of force. Adhesive tape is a good example of a holding adhesive.
Hot Melt Adhesives:
Hot melt adhesives are applied in the molten state and then harden. The adhesive substance is melted, applied to the surface, and then the parts are joined. Once the adhesive cools and solidifies, the joint is complete.
Instant Adhesives:
These include any adhesives that cure within seconds to minutes such as a Cyanoacrylate Adhesive.
Locking Adhesives:
Locking adhesives or sealants are used to prevent the loosening of threaded parts. Locking adhesives are placed on the threads of a bolt to prevent it from becoming loose from vibration.
Pressure Sensitive Adhesives:
Pressure sensitive adhesives form bonds easily when pressure is applied. Pressure sensitive adhesives are used on items such as self-sealing envelopes and double-sided tape. The joint is made with very little pressure.
Retaining Adhesives:
Retaining adhesives are very similar to locking adhesives however they are used on non-threaded parts to prevent twisting or sliding.
Sealing Adhesives:
Sealing adhesives are used to prevent the passage of air, water, oil etc between two surfaces. An example is the caulking around windows.
Structural Adhesives:
Structural adhesives are capable of withstanding a significant load. The term ‘significant load’ implies that the adhesive must be able to with stand a great deal of stress. In fact, it could be said that in the absence of unnaturally high forces, the substrates could be considered to be permanently joined.
Ultraviolet Adhesives:
Any adhesives that cure when exposed to UV light.
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Tuesday, November 08, 2011
Joint Stress Distribution
Joint stress distribution is the location of stresses within a bond.
Tension and Compressive Stress Distribution:
When a bond experiences either tensile or compressive stress, the joint distribution is illustrated as a straight line. The stress is evenly distributed across the entire bond.
Shear Stress Distribution:
Shear stresses are distributed across the bond in an entirely different way. The ends of the bond resist a greater amount of stress than the middle of the bond does.
Cleavage and Peel Stress Distribution:
When cleavage or peel stress is applied to a joint, most of the stress is concentrated at one end.
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Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Types of Stress
What is stress?
Stress is a force applied to a bond, usually expressed in N/mm2 (Newton’s per square millimetre) or MPa (Mega Pascals).
The following types of stress are commonly found in adhesive bonds:
1. Impact Stress – this occurs when a sudden force or shock is applied to a joint.
2. Tensile Stress – tensile stress tends to pull an object apart. It also tends to elongate an object.
3. Compressive Stress – The opposite of tensile stress, compressive stress tends to squeeze an object together.
4. Shear Stress – this stress is created by two surfaces sliding over one another.
5. Cleavage Stress – occurs when a joint is being opened at one end
6. Peel Stress – peel stress occurs when a flexible substrate is being lifted or peeled from the other substrate.
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Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Types of Joints
A Joint is the location where an adhesive joins two substrates. The Geometry of a joint refers to the general shape of an adhesive bond.
The two main factors to consider when designing a joint for adhesives are the strength and aesthetics.
Typical joint designs:
Lap/Overlap Joint - A lap joint, also known as an Overlap joint, is formed by placing one substrate partially over another substrate.
Joggle Lap Joint - A joggle lap joint is an offset joint very similar to the lap joint.
Double Lap Joint - A double lap joint incorporates two lap shear joints in one.
Butt Joint - A butt joint is formed by bonding two objects end to end.
Scarf Joint - A scarf joint is an angular butt joint. Cutting the joint at an angle increases the surface area.
Strap Joint - The strap Joint is a combination overlap joint with a butt joint. There are single and double strap joints.
Cylindrical Joint - A cylindrical joint uses a butt joint to join two cylindrical objects.
Biscuit Lid Joint – The biscuit lid joint is a variation of a joggle lap joint
Toggle Joint - A toggle joint is formed by fitting the two substrates together in a ‘tongue and groove’ type formation.
Stepped Lap Joint - This is a variation of a lap shear joint.
Flange Joint - This is a variation of an Overlap Joint.
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Tuesday, June 14, 2011
REACH Update
ITW Plexus is pleased to announce that all substances found in its adhesives have now been successfully pre-registered under the REACH legislation.
Performance Polymers Europe (PPE) has also completed a number of substance registrations in 2010 ahead of the first REACH registration deadline and is now focused on 2013 and 2018 registration deadline substances. The PPE REACH Coordinator is thoroughly following all new developments on REACH and will evaluate the impact on ITW Plexus adhesives. PPE is committed to complying with the REACH Regulation to provide greater responsibility to industry and to manage the risks from chemicals and to provide safety information on the substances used in all member company products.
PPE has also completed the Classification, Labelling and Packaging of Substances and Mixtures (CLP) notifications for close to 1000 substances both for itself and on behalf of EU based customers importing product directly from the US. These CLP notifications have been completed for ITW Plexus and submission reports are available to customers upon request. PPE are monitoring the use and import of all new substances and CLP notifications are being submitted on an ongoing basis.
For more information visit http://www.itwppe.eu/index.php?/ppe/internal/sustainability/, alternatively you can contact Jason Brogan, REACH Co-coordinator on
for more information.
Posted by Gurpreet Pawar, Marketing Executive, Rushden, UK
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Friday, September 10, 2010
ITW Plexus Approvals
We, at ITW Plexus recognise the importance of getting products approved by a professional body. This is why we continually strive to have our products recognised and certified by professional bodies which matter to customers, engineers and designers alike.
ITW Plexus has over the years achieved many approvals including Germanischer Lloyd, ABS and RINA (which we have recently achieved a re-approval). To familiarise you with the bodies, I’ve given you an overview of the industry they represent.
Germanischer Lloyd (GL)
A German based classification society that serves the energy and maritime sectors. GL offers Classification, Research, Assessment and Consultancy services.
American Bureau of Shipping (ABS)
Develops and validates standards of marine and off-shore design, construction and operational maintenance of facilities. As the name suggests this classification society was first chartered in New York State, USA.
Royal Institution of Naval Architects (RINA)
A world renowned, highly respected, professional organisation. RINA has members within many divisions including design, maintenance, construction and operation of all vessels and structures.
ABS and RINA are similar organisations given that they are both international, renowned bodies that are concerned with marine and off-shore facilities. ITW Plexus has approvals from both organisations’ for products as marine companies are inclined to have their own preference.
What are the benefits of getting approvals?
Comments received from various ITW Plexus employees and distributors with regards to the value of the approvals included:
‘Approvals offer quality assurance and recognition to the customer in the relevant industry’.
‘Customers within the energy and marine sectors look for adhesives and materials that have specific approvals’.
‘Approvals differentiate our products from our competitors. They also give customer’s the confidence that they are using a quality product for their application’.
Plexus product approvals:
MA530 - GL, ABS
MA560-1 - GL, ABS
MA590 - GL, ABS, RINA
MA425 - ABS
MA550 - ABS
MA556 - ABS, RINA
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Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Factors that Influence Adhesion
Doesn’t it get you down when you stick something together; wait patiently for it to go off for it to all fall apart at your feet. Well help is at hand. Here are four key things that will stop an adhesive sticking
1. Wetting the surface
To get a good bond the glue needs to ‘wet’ the surface, i.e. spread out over the surface you want to bond. If this doesn’t happen, then you won’t get good contact between the glue and the material you want to join together. This wetting effect will be influenced by the materials you want to stick together.
If you’re unsure, the ITW Technical team can help you to find the best solution for your ‘sticky’ situation.
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2. Surface treatment
The surface of the material you want to bond will make a big difference to how well your adhesive sticks. Contaminants such as grease and oil need to be cleaned off and some metals and plastics might need specialised mechanical or chemical treatment.
3. Structure of the material to be bonded
If you’ve got porous material, you need an adhesive that won’t be ‘absorbed’ into the structure and therefore leaving you nothing on the surface to stick to your other material. Choose a product which has a thick viscosity and it will stay where you put it with no sag or absorption.
4. Structure of the joint
To use an adhesive well the design of the joint is very important. Most adhesives need a good surface area to apply the glue on, the smaller the area the less of a load the part can withstand. Bonded joints are vulnerable to peel so design your joint to remove as much peel force as possible.
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Thursday, August 12, 2010
Adhesive Glossary
In case you’re not familiar with the adhesive terminology used in technical data sheets, websites and brochures, here’s a helpful jargon buster for the most common technical terms.
- Acrylic adhesives
- Two-component adhesives that have formulations that tolerate dirty and less prepared surfaces (generally linked to metals). They offer flexible bonds with good peel and impact resistance
- Adhesion
- The process by which two surfaces are held together by interfacial forces (surface attraction) or by mechanical interlocking
- Adhesive
- A substance which is capable of holding materials together in a useful fashion by means of surface attraction. Surface attraction results from placing a thin layer of adhesive between two objects
- Cohesive failure
- A failure mode where failure occurs within the body of the adhesive i.e. when adhesive is seen on both substrates in the same location
- Cure
- When an adhesive cures, it is converted from a liquid to a solid state. This may occur by cooling, loss of solvents or internal chemical reaction. Curing implies a type of physical or chemical change in the adhesive, while hardening or melting is reversible
- Fixture time
- The interval of time between the mixing of the two components and the time a bonded part can be removed from a mould without distortion
- Stiffness
- A materials ability to resist deformation when a load is applied
- Strain
- The elastic deformation caused from stress
- Stress
- The internal resistance to change in shape and size
- Structural adhesives
- Are capable of withstanding a ‘significant load’, the implication of this is that the adhesive must be able to withstand a great deal of stress
- Substrate
- A material which is held by an adhesive, it is a generic term for objects that are being bonded e.g. composite, metal or plastic
- Substrate failure
- A failure mode where the substrate fails itself before the adhesive bond
- Tension
- Is the stress resulting from pulling a material apart
- Toughness
- A measure of a materials ability to absorb energy
- Viscosity
- The resistance to flow or degree of thickening of a fluid
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Working time The time between mixing the two components and when the adhesive becomes no longer useable i.e. skins over
Posted by Gurpreet Pawar, Marketing Executive, Rushden, UK
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Friday, July 09, 2010
Adhesive Selection
Adhesives are now an important part of component design, they have come a long way since the early days and are now more than a match for most joining methods. They can actually improve component strength and durability, and save time and money in the process.

A good adhesive joint can be stronger than the material it is bonding, spread the load over the whole area, increase the durability of the whole assembly, and even reduce the cost per part.
Selecting an adhesive for a bonding application is best done during the design procedure when parameters can be outlined and determined. This makes the adhesive selection process easier. The user must first determine the process constraints and the conditions to which the final bonded assembly will be exposed. Then the substrate and adhesive selection can be made. Involving the adhesive manufacturer at this early stage can omit any later problems associated with wrong selection which can result in delayed production and field failures.
In addition, the main factors which need to be defined for the application before choosing the adhesive are:
- What are the substrates?
- What is the function of the bonded assembly?
- What stresses will the adhesive see (shear, peel etc.)?
- To what environmental/durability conditions will the final bonded assembly be exposed?
- What is the required bond line thickness?
- To what temperatures will the adhesive be subjected?
- What are the plant environments where the adhesive will be used?
- What are the working / fixture times required?
- How will you apply the chosen adhesive?
Once these factors have been determined, testing can be carried out at our European Testing Centre to ensure the correct adhesive is chosen for the application in question.
Posted by Gurpreet Pawar, Marketing Executive, Rushden, UK
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Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Understanding Methacrylate Technology
Plexus adhesives are methacrylate adhesives that have been developed to perform under a wide range of conditions. This is achieved by improving curing, bonding, adhesion and toughening mechanisms.
The free radical cure mechanism of Plexus methacrylates is catalytic in nature. When the adhesive and activators are mixed, amines in the adhesive cause the peroxide to decompose into free radicals, which initiate the process of chain polymerisation of the MMA to PMMA. These reactions are exothermic and take place at room temperature removing the need for applying heat to initiate the cure.
The improved adhesion mechanism of methacrylate adhesives consists of the low viscosity monomer solvating the surface of most thermoplastics prior to the curing mechanism beginning. The monomer can solvate most surface contaminants which removes the need for any surface preparation prior to applying the adhesive.
Plexus methacrylate adhesives have a unique combination of polymers and impact modifiers which enable them to be strong yet flexible. The resulting high tensile strength along with impressive elongation (over 100% at @ 30o C) gives them the processing advantages and convenience of epoxies and polyurethanes
The total combination of all these factors along with good rheology, thixotropic properties, ease of use and lack of VOC’s and solvents, results in a range of structural methacrylate adhesives that can be successfully used in the marine, construction and automotive markets on a wide range of substrates.

Posted by Gurpreet Pawar, Marketing Executive, Rushden, UK
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Friday, June 18, 2010
Using structural methacrylate adhesives in the bonding of thermoplastics and composite materials
The use of adhesives in industry has increased significantly in recent years, but with the development of methacrylate technology the advance of structural adhesives has seen improvements in manufacturing techniques in many markets. Their versatility and ease of use means that the continued evolution of processes and materials is not held up waiting for joining methods to catch up. Components can be made light weight and durable without compromising on the finish of the overall part.
The term ‘structural adhesive’ typically defines an adhesive which can withstand high loads under a variety of different stresses for long periods of time. Structural adhesives are typically high molecular weight molecules, which are required to withstand and distribute the loads within a joint.
The reasons for using adhesive in preference to a mechanical fastening are two fold. Mechanical fastenings can cause stress around the fixing, resulting in stress cracking and where possible failure of the substrate. Adhesives can remove this. The bond line between the two materials produces lower stresses because the load is applied over a larger surface area. Along with this the adhesive provides a layer between the materials that can absorb energy in impact, allow for thermal expansion and act as a layer to resist fatigue.
Plexus methacrylate adhesives offer an alternative to many traditional methods of joining two substrates together. They posses the high strength of an epoxy combined with the flexibility of a polyurethane, due to unique combination of polymers and impact modifiers. The free radical chain-polymerisation cure of methacrylate adhesives means they cure at room temperature and are not as susceptible to off-ratio mixing. Many thermoplastics, composites and metals can be bonded with Plexus adhesives with little or no surface preparation. The bonding of dissimilar materials can be achieved successfully which means more industries can benefit from using adhesive. The use of an adhesive over other methods can reduce labour costs and increase productivity as well as providing a strong, flexible, tough, durable bond that can withstand fatigue vibration and impact.
The combination of all these factors combined with good rheology, thixotropic properties, ease of use, recyclability, and lack of VOC’s and solvents, results in a wide range of structural methacrylate adhesives that can be used to bond many substrates in a variety of different industries.
Posted by Gurpreet Pawar, Marketing Executive, Rushden, UK
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Tuesday, February 09, 2010
Winters affect on Structural Adhesives
It’s been confirmed as one of the longest cold periods we have known. For anyone who is wondering whether the fall in temperature will affect Plexus structural adhesives, don’t worry. If the adhesive has been stored below 0oC simply allow the product to warm up (23oC) and it will fully recover. Storage for long periods at 0oC is not recommended. Our Technical Department will be happy to offer further advice, as recovery time depends on size and quantity.
If forecasts are anything to go by then the ‘cold snap’ is here to stay with us for a while longer. Admittedly some parts of Europe are better equipped in dealing with sub-zero temperatures than us Brits. At least we haven’t been affected by a delay in shipments and products are reaching their destination.
Posted by Gurpreet Pawar, Marketing Executive, Rushden, UK
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