CONVERTING NEWS
AND INSIGHTS

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.

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.

Protective film is a material that protects surfaces that are susceptible to damage: minor or moderate abrasions to scratches and more. One example is a vehicle. Protective film helps protect a car from daily wear and tear that comes with regular usage and other more uncommon damage.

The world of adhesive technology is an exciting place these days! Adhesive manufacturers are pushing the limits of science and technology, and the industry is enjoying:
• Product advancements and innovations
• New, sophisticated converting equipment
• Improved production rates, reduced labor costs, minimized waste, less rework

Unsolvable application challenges are now being solved as manufacturers look to use new materials in their processes and products. Yet, technological advancements on their own aren’t worth much. They require industry knowledge and insights from an expert adhesive converter to capitalize on advances in technology.

NOTE: This article, #2 in an ongoing blog series on thin bonding, focuses on double sided tape. To read the series kickoff, an overview on thin bonding, click here.

Of the two main thin bonding types — double sided tape and adhesive transfer tape — double sided tape is the most converter-friendly, allowing for many manufacturing processes with few limitations. Having a carrier provides stability that makes the tape easier to handle and convert into small shapes and parts.

Welcome to our ongoing blog series featuring the many advantages of thin bonding. If you’re looking for specific information on double sided tape, click here.

Why dedicate so much attention and digital space to thin bonding? Because it’s a virtually invisible, super-strong bond for nearly any material in almost every industry. And that just begins to tell the story of thin bonding. There are so many benefits; we need an ongoing series to share them all.

If you're in the electrical trade, you've probably used Polyimide tape before. You might know it under a different name, though: Kapton tape.

Polyimide tape, or Kapton tape, has a ton of benefits when it comes to the electrical side of any given industry. If you want to know more about polyimide tape, keep reading. You'll be a certified polyimide master by the end.

Doctor Horace Day is credited with the invention of the first tape in 1845. As a doctor using this invention in medicine it was called surgical tape. Dr. Day used a rubberized material applied to strips of fabric and the surgical tape was born. 

Do more with less.

If you’re a manufacturer, you know this has been the expectation for years.

Manufacturers have experienced many pressures that affect their operations and bottom line. One way to adapt is to optimize inventory; truly understanding inventory levels and discovering efficiency opportunities through use of automated component tracking systems that enable end-to-end traceability of individual components.

This level of tracking can improve assembly line performance, help identify defects in products during manufacturing, improve overall quality, increase production yields, and more. However, in order to track components, labels need to be readable by automated tracking machines. That’s when PCB labels become so vital.

A converted product’s carrier or backing material is one of the most important decisions when designing pressure sensitive adhesives. The carrier has to possess the right qualities to match the application (will it be hand applied or automatically dispensed?) and the processing (will it be slit or die-cut?).

Recently, we explored the basics of release liners in this article. In today’s blog post, we’ll dive into the physical components of backing (or “carrier;” we’ll use both terms throughout) and how it helps the converting process.

The stress is on.

You’re under pressure to create the best possible product. That includes choosing the right material, the right adhesive, the right format, the right elongation at break percentage … even the right converter!

That’s because you know your product will be under pressure, too. It has to perform with a certain tensile strength — the maximum force or stress a material can withstand while being pulled apart from both ends before failing. That’s why it’s also called “breaking strength.”

Excellence.

Every business wants to achieve it, and every business wants to partner with other businesses that achieve it. And while saying you have it is easy, being recognized for it by an industry leader is quite another thing.

For companies in the converting industry, being honored for excellence by 3M is the top of the top. It shouts to the world that a converter deeply understands the industry leader, and the industry leader trusts them.

This article explores the origins of the 3M Preferred Converter program, digs into why it matters in a highly competitive marketplace, and shares why customers should care.

Of course, as a converter of flexible materials we love to talk about pressure sensitive adhesives (PSA). However the unsung hero of the adhesive world may be the release liner (often called “carrier” or “backing”). This is the product — typically a coated paper or film — that carries the sticky material and serves as a protective covering until the pressure sensitive adhesive is needed. Think of the shiny paper that carries a sticker or label.

A release liner’s base may be paper, polycoated paper, film, or even a metalized film. The liner can be coated with silicone or non-silicone to ease separation from the adhesive. It all depends on the precise delivery and dispensing system needed for the application.

In many cases, the release liner is one of the most critical decisions when designing a PSA. It has to have the right qualities and features to precisely match the application (hand applied or automatic dispensing) and processing (slitting, die-cutting, etc.).

The good news is you have options.

Many electronics products require specific adhesives that dissipate heat. Thermal interface materials (a combination of high-performance acrylic adhesive and highly conductive ceramic particles) enhance performance by minimizing reliability concerns and reduced operational lifetimes that are often affected by heat.

Have you ever wondered exactly how tape works? There are multiple types of adhesives on the market today. When you think of tape, you're most likely thinking of pressure sensitive adhesive tape. 

A heat activated adhesive is a type of adhesive, usually applied to a tape backing, that will not bond at normal temperatures. Instead, it becomes sticky in certain temperatures, wherein the adhesive chemicals are activated and can form a bond.

Differential adhesive tape is a double coated or double sided adhesive with different adhesives on each coated side. Differential tapes are most often used when one side of the tape construction is used to create a permanent bond while the other side is used to create a temporary bond.

Automotive manufacturers are losing thousands of dollars a month in rework costs.

New VHB tapes, now available at Strouse, are the thinnest acrylic foam tape products offered in 3M’s VHB portfolio.

Did you know one of the first pieces of wearable technology dates back to the 1600’s? This hot tech gadget was the Abacus ring.

Wearable technology as an industry has since seen tremendous growth. From fitness devices that track workouts to health monitors that communicate with family members and doctors in real time, these devices provide us with instantaneous data that brings together technology and everyday life.

Today wearable technology is a $14 billion

It's FINALLY the first day of Spring! Soon comes warmer weather and greener pastures. With St. Patrick's Day and the first day of Spring we really are thinking green at Strouse.

What does green mean to us? 3M 401+ High Performance Green Masking Tape! 3M 401+ is one of 3M's most popular masking tapes not only for it's bright green color but for it's trusted performance.

3M 401+/233+ Green Masking Tape is used in critical

Bonding Tapes are pressure sensitive adhesives built with the purpose of mounting and bonding different substrates together.

Bonding tapes are most often double coated adhesives built around a film with adhesive on both sides of the film. The adhesives are then covered with a liner so that the adhesive is not exposed.