Adhesive Lamination: Creating Short Run, Custom PSA Tapes for Specialty Applications
Adhesive lamination is a useful tool to fabricate high-performance, fully custom pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) tapes that can be used in highly specified applications with several competing requirements. This process, essential for producing short-run PSA tapes, combines layers of materials with adhesives to create hybrid tapes that possess the qualities and strengths of two or more materials. How can adhesive lamination transform materials into custom-tailored adhesive solutions for your application?
What Exactly is Adhesive Lamination?
Adhesive lamination is the process of combining one or more layers of PSA tape with other foams, rubbers, insulations, or films to create a hybrid material. In the context of PSA tapes, this technique allows for the creation of tapes that combine the best of both worlds when it comes to different materials.
PSA tape fabricators can create combinations of materials that include specialty single or double coated tapes that combine your exact PSA choice with a selected backing. This allows you to create thermally or electrically conductive silicone rubber, insulation tape shields made from a multi-layer build of PSA tape, insulation and foil tapes, sound abatement solutions that combine PSA tapes with acoustical foams and fabrics, or many other combinations that fit nearly any application.
How the Lamination Process Works
The lamination process involves feeding substrate materials and adhesive tape films through a lamination machine where they are joined under controlled pressure and temperature. The result is a composite material that leverages the strengths of each component. For PSA tapes, this means achieving the desired balance between flexibility, durability, adhesion, and ease of application.
PSA tape adhesive lamination options include:
Wide Web Lamination: This option accommodates large-scale, high-volume lamination needs, and is ideal for standardizing production without sacrificing quality. Material widths can be up to 60 inches with a high capacity that allows for fast turnaround short run laminated materials. This process allows for consistent and straight lamination with minimized wrinkles. The materials can then be trimmed or slit into narrower rolls.
Complex Lamination: Tailored for more intricate designs, complex lamination allows for the integration of multiple materials and adhesives in a single tape, catering to specialized requirements. This type of lamination runs multiple lines of materials through a machine to create a single web of material that is very versatile.
The Advantages of Adhesive Lamination
The lamination process gives manufacturers many benefits, and hybrid materials can be crucial for meeting the demanding needs of various industries. The many benefits of laminated PSA tapes include:
Enhanced Durability: by choosing the right foams and laminated tapes, it is possible to withstand harsh conditions, from extreme temperatures to exposure to chemicals, ensuring longevity and reliability.
Adding a Third Hand for Productivity: by adding a PSA tape to the film, foam, rubber, or insulation you wish to install, it can act as a third hand in the assembly process helping improve installer productivity.
Improved Resistances and Environmental Performance: laminated tapes can be engineered to resist water, UV light, and other environmental factors, ensuring performance in any setting.
Lowering Production Costs: by having multilayered composite parts come into your assembly process already laminated and cut to shape, you save dramatically on the need for in house labor to build up layers with adhesive and fasteners and cut the parts to shape.
Material Cost Efficiency: by optimizing materials and adhesives for the intended application, adhesive lamination can reduce waste and lower material costs, delivering an economical solution without compromising quality.
What Can Be Created with PSA Tape Lamination?
Adhesive lamination opens a world of possibilities for creating custom PSA tapes. With the right fabrication partner, you can create:
Single- or double-sided foam tapes with nearly any foam and adhesive combination
Specialty single sided tapes with nearly any film and adhesive combination
Extreme temperature insulating and shielding tapes
Electrically and thermally conductive tapes
Sound dampening and acoustical insulation tapes
Scuff resistant and slick surface tapes (UHMW or Teflon with PSA adhesive)
Silicone rubber, sponge, and foam tapes
High temperature resistance tapes
High protection tapes that are permanent or removable
Choosing the Right Adhesive for Lamination
The choice of adhesive plays a critical role in the lamination process, directly influencing the tape's performance characteristics. There are four major types of PSAs:
Acrylic Pressure Sensitive Adhesives
Acrylic PSAs are synthetic resins that are known for their excellent aging and UV resistance, making them suitable for a wide variety of outdoor and indoor uses. They are durable and resistant to many environmental factors and temperatures. They also adhere to a wide variety of surfaces, including difficult-to-bond plastics.
Generally, they have less initial tack compared to rubber-based adhesives, which might affect immediate bond strength in some applications.
Butyl Pressure Sensitive Adhesives
Butyl PSAs are made from synthetic rubber and exhibit excellent moisture and air impermeability. Their viscoelastic properties make them ideal for sealing applications. They are ideal for sealing applications in construction and automotive industries because of their high flexibility and conformability, good temperature resistance, and durability.
They do have a limited resistance to temperature, solvents and oils, which can affect their performance in certain chemical environments.
Rubber Pressure Sensitive Adhesives
Rubber PSAs are based on natural or synthetic rubbers and are known for their strong initial tack and adhesion to a variety of surfaces, including low-energy materials like polyethylene and polypropylene. They form an immediate bond formation upon application. However, they are not suitable for high-temperature applications and are less resistant to UV light and oxidation, which may lead to deterioration over time when exposed to outdoor environments.
Silicone Pressure Sensitive Adhesives
Silicone PSAs are made from silicone polymers and are characterized by their ability to perform over the widest temperature range. They adhere well to silicone surfaces, making them unique among PSAs, and are durable in harsh environments, providing long-lasting bonds in challenging applications. They do have limited uses, are typically expensive, and some non-silicone surfaces may have to be treated with a primer before use.
Custom Laminated PSA Tape Applications
Lamination adds a lot more versatility to PSA tapes, opening them up to uses in different industries, including:
Automotive: enhancing interior sound and vibration dampening, providing a quieter, more comfortable ride.
Aerospace: offering lightweight, durable solutions for interior aerospace applications, and adding temperature/vibration resistance.
Appliances: utilized as insulating tapes to improve durability and performance.
HVAC: serving as OEM gasketing tapes for reliable, resistant, and airtight gaskets and seals.
Electronics: delivering conductive properties for EMI shielding, protecting sensitive components.
Medical: ideal for diagnostic devices and indirect skin contact tapes.
Adhesive Lamination with Our PSA Tape Experts
At Engineered Materials, we specialize in solving adhesive challenges into opportunities with custom PSA tape solutions. Our expertise in adhesive lamination allows us to offer complete customization that meets the precise needs of your application. Whether you're seeking to enhance product performance, streamline manufacturing processes, and just need a better bonding solution, we can help.