Understanding Industrial Substrate Bonding

Many industrial markets rely on adhesive bonding to overcome manufacturing challenges. Whether you’re working with metal, plastic, rubber, or even composite materials, the right adhesive can achieve a strong and lasting bond. However, it’s important to understand how adhesion works and its substrate-specific requirements.

In industrial adhesive bonding applications, adhesion refers to the bond between your adhesive material and the given substrate, whereas cohesion refers to the internal strength of the adhesive product itself. With proper adhesion, your adhesive product will remain firmly bonded to the surface of your substrate, even under challenging environmental conditions.

Every substrate has different requirements that must be met to form a strong bond. For example, material compatibility and surface energy are crucial considerations when working with plastic substrates. In metal bonding, it’s critical to consider the different surface preparation techniques available and environmental conditions. Rubber bonding requires knowledge of your material’s shore hardness and surface treatments.

Exploring substrate-specific factors like these is essential for achieving lasting results. As an expert in industrial bonding materials, Aron Alpha can help you find the right adhesive for your needs. Our range of cyanoacrylate products helps clients from diverse backgrounds eliminate the drawbacks associated with mechanical fasteners, with advantages like:

  • Uniform stress distribution
  • Assembly weight reduction
  • Improved production efficiency
  • Ability to join dissimilar materials
  • Enhanced aesthetic finish

Below, you can learn more about the most common types of substrates used in industrial adhesive bonding applications. We’ll also discuss how to identify the best bonding adhesive for your needs and industrial bonding best practices.

Types of Industrial Substrates

Aron Alpha’s industrial adhesive bonding products are compatible with an extensive range of industrial substrates, including many types of metal, plastic, wood, and composite materials.

Metals

Metal materials are widely used throughout industrial manufacturing. While certain projects involving metal can use metal fasteners, our industrial adhesives offer many advantages that may make them a better option. For example, they eliminate the need to drill holes, which is not only time-consuming but also weakens the substrate and becomes a possible site for corrosion to occur.

Adhesive-bonded metals also evenly distribute stress across the entire bond line, reducing the effects of vibration and protecting the longevity of the assembly. They can bond and seal simultaneously, keeping fluids in or out depending on the application.

Plastics

Many plastic materials lack the surface tension needed to form an effective bond. Aron Alpha offers cyanoacrylate primers designed to increase the bond strength on low surface energy materials. These can be paired with our cyanoacrylate adhesives to quickly and easily bond two plastic substrates together (or bond plastic to another material like glass, metal, rubber, or ceramic).

Wood

In the wood industry, engineered wood products and smaller-diameter trees are increasingly being used. Some adhesives may not be able to penetrate dense wood with a tight grain structure or may not be compatible with wood featuring a high oil content, resulting in a growing demand for wood bonding products that can achieve durable, lasting adhesion.

At Aron Alpha, we offer a number of formulations to create an attractive and secure result with wood substrates. You can browse our catalog to find options that best suit your application.

Rubber

Cyanoacrylate adhesives are a popular option for rubber substrates. Cyanoacrylate is an acrylic monomer that transforms into a plastic state after it’s cured, achieving strong adhesion in seconds. Some common types of rubber that use our cyanoacrylate adhesives include silicone rubber, natural rubber, and polyurethane rubber.

Composites

Composite materials are made from a combination of substrates, such as resins, fibers, or other elements. They are often covered in a gel coating agent that makes bonding with certain adhesives challenging. Cyanoacrylate adhesive is a highly versatile product that offers the compatibility and strength needed to form a lasting bond.

Choosing the Right Adhesive for Your Substrate

Adhesion is the molecular force of attraction between two materials, and the strength of attraction is determined by the material’s surface energy. Materials with a high surface energy will experience greater molecular attraction and a stronger bond. In other words, substrates with high surface energy allow the adhesive to easily spread out, increasing the contact between the adhesive and the substrate. Conversely, materials with low surface energy, such as certain plastics, will exhibit weaker attractive forces.

Surface contact is crucial to adhesive performance. To maximize it, be sure your substrate is free from any contaminants and apply firm pressure to increase the flow and contact of the adhesive with the substrate. Low surface energy materials may require a cyanoacrylate primer to facilitate bond strength between them.

Best Practices for Bonding Industrial Substrates

While each application has unique requirements, there are a few universal best practices to keep in mind when bonding industrial substrates:

  • Remove any dust, dirt, or contaminants from the bonding surfaces before adhering
  • Apply the adhesive in thin, uniform amounts to distribute stress evenly
  • While the adhesive cures, apply pressure evenly along the bond line

Certain plastic materials feature a low surface energy that makes them difficult to bond. To ensure successful results, verify that your adhesive is compatible with your substrate and apply the adhesive carefully. If you’re working with nylon, polyester, or acetal, you should apply a primer before bonding to achieve the best results. PTFE and PTFE blends should be etched on one side before bonding.

It’s also a good idea to consider your joint design. Techniques like lap joints can distribute stress evenly across the bond, preventing stress buildup and compensating for thermal expansion differences.

Cyanoacrylate Applications

Cyanoacrylate products from Aron Alpha are used throughout an extensive range of applications, including industrial manufacturing, medical device assembly, cosmetic packaging, and so much more. Explore the most common uses for our solutions below.

Industrial

Bonding Dissimilar Materials

  • Metal to metal: Transformer steel cover plates
  • Metal to plastic: Bonding ferrite magnets to plastic and metal housings or adhering a connector plug in a stainless steel sensor housing
  • Metal to rubber: Adhering rubber to metal gaskets, steel to epoxy composites, or aluminum to EPDM rubber
  • Plastic to plastic: Joining a PVC tube to an ABS connector, a plastic housing base to a fire extinguisher body, polycarbonate windows to ABS housing, or plastic housings of electric motors
  • Rubber to rubber: Rubber tires to ABS wheels on remote control cars, rubber tubes to rubber fittings and seals

Assembly

  • Automotive: Connecting braided nylon sleeves to rubber heater hoses
  • Electronics: Joining loudspeaker parts, connector plugs in stainless steel sensor housings, and plastic or metal electric motor housings
  • Appliances: Electrical appliance housing components

Manufacturing

  • Machining: Adding abrasive tips to machine tools
  • Assembly lines: Applying synthetic rubber feet to ABS housing, adding rubber safety pads to aluminum ladder steps

Medical

  • Device assembly: Adhering flexible tubing or balloons onto medical devices, assembling a wide range of medical equipment
  • Tissue adhesives: Temporary wound closure

Other

  • Cosmetic industry: Assembling plastic containers, applying logos
  • Miscellaneous/industrial: Tacking o-rings into a metal enclosure or tacking strain gauges into position

Quality Adhesives for Industrial Substrates by Aron Alpha

For over 60 years, Aron Alpha has been a trusted leader in cyanoacrylate adhesive technology. We deliver professional industrial adhesive bonding solutions that are compatible with an extensive range of applications. Our team can help you find the ideal solution for even the most challenging substrates. We develop custom formulations, provide on-site engineering consulting, and offer prototype testing to ensure your adhesive will perform as required.

Contact us today to learn more about our industrial adhesives and related services.

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