Metal Bonding Adhesives

Q: Why Use an Adhesive for Metal Bonding?

Application simplicity, Durability, Strength, Versatility, Appearance

Adhesives are a favored choice for creating strong bonds without specialty tools and mechanical fasteners. Products like epoxies, acrylics, and cyanoacrylates are compatible with a range of materials and simple to apply. Such adhesives are ideal and versatile options for bonding metal materials as their performance often surpasses that of fasteners like screws and nails.

Bonding adhesives from Aron Alpha^®, the popular brand of adhesive solutions from Toagosei, Inc., form a strong, long-lasting bond between metal components for reliable, high-quality assemblies. Learn more about metal bonding adhesives, activators, application tips, and how Aron Alpha products can benefit your application.

Why Use an Adhesive for Metal Bonding?

Using metal bonding adhesives lends your assembly project several benefits:

Application simplicity. Adhesives are easy to apply, even to components like intricately shaped parts that make mechanical fastening challenging.
Durability. Once cured, metal bonding adhesives can withstand environmental conditions like humidity, extreme temperatures, and chemical exposure.
Strength. Industrial-strength Aron Alpha metal adhesives create bonds strong enough to potentially outperform nails and other fasteners.
Versatility. Adhesives offer material flexibility as they’re compatible with ferrous and non-ferrous metals.
Appearance. Compared to fasteners, adhesives are ideal when the aesthetics of a bond are important as they tend to have a more pleasing appearance for assemblies.

Types of Adhesives for Metal

When bonding metal assembly components, you have multiple options for adhesive types based on the needs of your project. You can select from:

Epoxies. Compatible with diverse bonding projects, these highly versatile adhesives form durably strong bonds that can withstand chemical exposure without weakening.
Acrylics. Fast-curing acrylics adhere well to metal components. They’re ideal for applications in which speed matters, such as high-volume production.
Cyanoacrylates. Another name for super glues, cyanoacrylates offer superior curing speeds, bonding almost immediately to metal materials (though perhaps less securely than epoxies and acrylics).

Factors Affecting Activator Selection

Some adhesives, such as two-step or two-part acrylics, require two components to form a bond. There’s the adhesive itself, and then there’s the activator, or catalyst. With two-step adhesives, best practice is to apply the adhesive to one bonding surface and the activator to the other. When the two surfaces press together and the adhesive and activator touch, the activator spurs the breakdown of the adhesive’s peroxide curing agent. This generates free radicals that polymerize the adhesive into thermoset plastic.

Multiple varieties of activators are effective for two-step adhesives, and the right one for your particular needs is dependent upon your requirements for:

Bond strength. Your chosen activator will impact the achievable strength of the adhesive bond, as well as the bond’s resistance to various environmental factors.
Curing time. Some adhesives cure and bond faster than others. The shorter this fixture time is, the faster and more efficient the assembly process will be.
Form of the activator. There are three forms of activators: complete solids formulations lacking solvents as well as active ingredients distributed in either flammable or nonflammable solvents.
On-part lifespan of the activator. Upon application, some activators are only “active” for thirty minutes, while others may last a month. Longer on-part life is beneficial for manufacturing operations.

Tips for Achieving Strong Metal Bonds

To ensure a longer-lasting hold, follow these tips:

Prepare the bonding surfaces prior to application by cleaning them and removing contaminants like dirt or oil.
Follow the manufacturer’s application instructions to achieve even surface coverage, as every product is different.
Ensure the curing conditions match the manufacturer’s instructions for humidity, temperature, clamping pressure, chemical exposure, and other environmental factors for maximum bond strength.
Account for the surface area, stress distribution, and potential gaps in the joint design.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you bond dissimilar metals with adhesives?

Yes, as long as you select an adhesive that’s compatible with each of the materials in your assembly.

What’s the curing time for adhesive bonds?

Every adhesive has a different cure period, and your application may also impact the curing process. For example, products like super glue begin forming a bond almost immediately, while others necessitate a full cure period of multiple days.

Can adhesive bonds match the strength of mechanical fasteners?

Often, the bond strength of adhesives not only matches that of mechanical fasteners but even surpasses it. We recommend looking at each project individually to determine the right adhesive type or bonding solution for creating powerful connections in your application.

Can you repair adhesive bonds?

While you can potentially fix the damage to an adhesive bond, be aware that the repaired bond might not have the strength of the original.