The gasket industry is a large and thriving industry. In the United States, the gasket industry generates annual revenue of about $8 billion.
In recent years, the gasket industry has been shifting how it approaches the manufacture of gaskets. The gasket industry often used asbestos to manufacture gaskets in the past. Because of its abundance and unique texture, gasket material would often contain up to 80% white asbestos
Transdermal patches are a modern medical marvel. They provide a convenient way to deliver medicine to people consistently and efficiently with little disruption to their routines, and in a small package to boot! Depending on the patch, a person might be able to stick it on to start the week and leave it there for several days, which is far more convenient than starting the morning by popping a few pills.
Still, a lot goes into making sure the drug contained within the patch gets administered to the patient as prescribed. If the patch isn’t designed and constructed to medicate the patient properly via the skin, it’s a bust — if not dangerous. Let’s look at 6 factors that impact transdermal patch delivery systems.
Remember skinning your knee when you were a kid? As inexplicable as it was that you didn’t pull off that amazing move on your bicycle that you’d been practicing all day, it was nice to have something available to help you heal. If a standard bandage wasn’t up to the task, you may have relied on some gauze and wound dressing tape to do the trick.
In addition to being found in homes, medical professionals also count on it for much more severe concerns in doctors’ offices and hospitals worldwide. With wound dressings, you have the adhesive, backing, and gauze (if needed) that must all work together to protect and assist with the healing of injuries, surgical incisions, and more.
Nature gave us one of the best gasket materials possible — rubber. Natural rubber can stretch and has the same elasticity in all directions, something wholly unique to the material.
But the problem with natural rubber is that it can degrade over time — just like anything from nature — and while it does offer certain resistances, it can be vulnerable to oils and chemicals. That means it doesn’t always make the best choice for gasketing material. That’s where neoprene steps in.
Neoprene is a hugely popular and widely used material for gasketing material. You’re probably experiencing it in your house or workplace at this very instant. Neoprene gasket chemical resistance in particular is quite impressive, which is one of its biggest draws.
“Tape? Spray? Glue? What should I do?” Rhyming questions aside, when considering all the materials needed for a successful custom gasket, it is crucial to factor in the type of adhesive needed.
The right adhesive depends on numerous factors:
You have several adhesive types to consider for the task. The most common gasket adhesives are gasket glue, spray, liquid, and gasket tape. Each adhesive type has its own unique characteristics that must be understood before calling on them for your gasketing project.
What are the advantages of using a transdermal patch?
If you’ve seen advertisements for a nicotine patch, then you’ve already gotten a glimpse of where adhesive patches and transdermal absorption fit within our modern world. That, however, is far from the only use these small-but-important medical items have.
The development of adhesive patches to medicate people is one of the most impressive medical advancements of our time. Over the years, it’s become clear that this method has numerous advantages. We wanted to look at five key benefits of adhesive patches and transdermal absorption and where the adhesive component fits in the process.
Convenience is everything in our modern world. Being able to quickly and easily create a reliable and reclosable attachment between two substrates could cause a revolution.
That’s what happened when the original patent (1958) of hook and loop tape — Velcro® — expired, ushering in incredible innovations and instant popularity in the early 1980s. Soon it was on sneakers, vehicles, astronaut suits, airline seat cushions, blood-pressure cuffs, and much more.
While hook and loop tape’s adhesive/protective liner backing makes it very versatile, another “reclosable fastener” (a device that allows for repeated opening and closing) — dual lock tape — is seen as an improvement on the original hook and loop tape. For demanding projects, there is industrial strength hook and loop tape; however, dual lock tape is naturally stronger.
Are you looking for a strong and versatile adhesive to help get things done?
Few things are more rewarding than taking material and transforming it into a product. It’s what manufacturing is all about. Raw materials are impressive, but they’re not exactly something people actually want or can easily use.
An adhesive converter typically takes large rolls of raw material — tape, films, paper, plastic, foam, soft metals, and more — and “converts” them into usable parts. As technologically advanced as the materials themselves may be, the large, continuous rolls (called master rolls) provided by a manufacturer (such as 3M) are of practically no use to customers; they’re too large to handle, not the right shape or size, or the material isn’t finished the way it needs to be.
Microfluidic technology involves moving tiny amounts of liquids to perform various functions: ink in an inkjet printer, solder on an electronics board, bodily fluids within a medical device to perform chemical analyses. The use of this technology isn’t exactly new, but its popularity is rapidly rising.
Multilayered microfluidic devices — the majority of microfluidic devices — typically have channels built into the device through which the specific amount of fluid flows at a particular speed and path. Construction is accomplished by either adding channels between layers or subtracting material from a solid sheet to form channels. These individual layers eventually need to come together in one usable package or device.
Gaskets are everywhere. They’re in your car, at work, even in the air! A gasket is a common term used to describe any seal or grommet that holds two things together. You can make gaskets from rubber, plastic, metal, and other materials. The material choice depends on why you need to use a gasket.
High-speed. Accurate. Versatile. You want your die cutting method to fulfill your needs because it’s an essential part of manufacturing. Realistically, however, you may have to make some choices based on the project’s priorities. High precision or high volume? Super speed or complex cuts? Low cost or low maintenance?
Polyurethanes are the largest class of polymers worldwide, with a global market of $79 Billion. As a class, it keeps growing.
Breakthroughs in materials science continue to add opportunities for innovation in materials science and global industries. Taking advantage of those opportunities nets great advantages.
Just ask the electric vehicle industry. Top EV companies increasingly use polymer foam as a thermal interface. This keeps powerful Li-ION batteries safe, and it prevents them from overheating in electric vehicles.
PORON foam is one such groundbreaking material.
OK, here’s the short story: Die cut adhesives are extremely versatile and can solve business challenges in a variety of industries.
Nice (and true), but not very exciting. What’s really fun is hearing about the unexpected ways that die cut adhesives are being used; the solutions that definitely do not immediately pop to mind when you hear “adhesive applications.”
Automotive manufacturers are throwing away thousands of dollars a month in rework costs.
Gaskets have many essential responsibilities. In fluid processing and handling equipment, they create a pressure-tight seal between two surfaces — preventing fluids from escaping and preventing contaminants from intruding. Plus, they insulate, cushion, and reduce noise. Not much to ask, right?
Let’s imagine you’ve created a new electronic good! This product is amazing, and you would love to show it to the world. But what if the battery catches on fire? That would mean a lot of faulty products and unhappy customers. Worst of all, you will get a bad reputation and potentially even lawsuits.
You have adhesive options.
Two of today’s most popular are adhesive tape and liquid adhesive. Of course, both have their advantages and drawbacks. Let’s not waste any time. We provide the pros and cons for an attribute of each, and you make the call. Your quick comparison checklist starts right now!
Joining two surfaces together.
It doesn’t sound that difficult. Yet, depending on the substrates and the performance demanded of that adhesive bond, it can be pretty tricky.
Historically, mechanical fasteners of all kinds — rivets, brackets, bolts, screws, retaining rings — have been used to “permanently” bond two substrates. But, these are not low-profile, plus their weight and likelihood to corrode increases the possibility of bond failure.
Many industrial bonding adhesives are low profile, including 3M™ VHB™ and acrylic foam tapes, which evenly distribute pressure along the substrates and enhance aesthetics.
For decades, engineers have had to deal with the downsides of many permanent bonding materials:
Gaskets — whether adhesives, foam, metal, cork, rubber, paper, or another material — are substrates used to perform two essential functions: 1) create a pressure-tight barrier/seal between two stationary surfaces and 2) use superior adhesives on these difficult-to-bond surfaces.
Pressure sensitive adhesive tape has become the preferred solution for many adhesive needs. Its flexibility, strength, design, and versatility provide many assembly advantages. It’s so impressive, we recently ran this 3-part blog series.
As we explored in the first article in that series, engineers have used many solutions — each with their own limitations — to bond materials. The right pressure sensitive adhesive tape can replace these inefficient options and add additional benefits: evenly distributing pressure, converting to custom sizes/shapes, adding design aesthetics, and more.
Permanent bonding projects take on various formats and requirements. The one thing true in all cases is the need for putting two items together so they don’t come apart. Regardless of how well the surfaces match or mismatch, they must be bonded to hold for the long term.
Thin bonding is a huge category of adhesives with many applications, so we’re continuing our efforts to share what we know in our ongoing series. You’re invited to check out an overview of thin bonding and details about double sided tape.
The world of adhesive materials within flexible material converting continues to expand and change. As technology overall evolves, so does the ability of adhesives to bond two or more substrates together.
Before we dive into the many uses of this exceptional substance, let’s start with the basics: “What is hydrogel?” Hydrogel is a 3D network of hydrophilic polymer material that quickly absorbs and retains a large amount of water (or other fluid). Incredibly versatile and environmentally sensitive, hydrogels are multi-functional across a variety of industries.
Whether they are open or closed, shallow or deep, the healing process from wounds can be long and painful.
