New adhesives aim to reduce manufacturing trade-offs
Adhesives specialist, Intertronics, has been appointed as a distributor of Born2Bond, a new range of CyanoAcrylate (CA) adhesives suitable for bonding applications in medical devices.
The Born2Bond products will complement Intertronics’ current CA product range, offering an additional option to manufacturers looking to reduce the trade-offs associated with CAs.
The new, patented products claim to be able to overcome the speed issues of a traditional MethoxyEthyl CyanoAcrylate (MECA) product, but still offer the stability and strength of an Ethyl CyanoAcrylate (ECA). This means that manufacturers can use CA adhesives without having to compromise as much as they had to previously.
CAs are a quick and relatively strong structural adhesive option and are the only fast bonding adhesives to be single part and cure at room temperature without an external energy source. However, previously these materials have come with numerous compromises, including odour, blooming, limited performance, and brittleness.
To overcome these challenges, ECAs are commonly used to bond plastic with MECAs used in applications requiring low odour and low bloom. Additionally, manufacturers could use rubber toughened CAs, to improve resistance to stress, vibration and temperature. However, these options are not without their own difficulties, and often products are either slower to cure, not suitable for gap filling, or more expensive.
Peter Swanson, managing director of Intertronics, said: “There has historically been a negative perception of CAs, due to their limitations.
“Despite this, there has been very little innovation in CA chemistry in the last 15 years until now. Born2Bond adhesives are manufactured using a new ‘crackless’ process. This means that it is possible to overcome many of the issues associated with the MECAs, while retaining the benefits of ECA products.”
The new product line includes three ranges:
- Born2Bond Ultra - the fastest MECA based product on the market, which comes in four viscosities and is low blooming, low odour, fast curing, non-irritant and offers increased flexibility and instant adhesion on multiple surfaces.
- Born2Bond Light Lock - a dual cure product type that cures with either light or moisture and offers low bloom and odour, is non-irritant, tack free and offers a long open time with light activation.
- Light Lock - available as a gel and high viscosity product. It is certified to ISO 10993-4 and ISO 10993-10 for medical device applications.
Born2Bond 2K products come in a two part cartridge and include Structural, which offers a short fixture time, gap filling and high toughness. Structural also offers temperature resistance of up to 120⁰C and a significantly longer open time than alternative products. The Repair product claims to be sandable, possess high bond strength, offers gap fill, and acts significantly faster than alternative products. Flex offers elasticity and instant bonding, for which the company claims there is no equivalent technology on the market.