The Benefits of Using Pressure Sensitive Tapes in Appliance Assembly
Pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) tapes have changed the way most appliances are designed and manufactured. The assembly process of any given appliance requires a mixture of speed and repeatability; the more units you can piece together in succession, the smaller the lead times and costs of a manufacturing run will be. While different types of bonding solutions have been used in appliances over the years—liquid adhesives, metal fasteners, welds, screws and bolts, etc.—none come close to the ease and reliability of using PSA tapes.
As modern appliances feature more components and complex assemblies, PSA tapes are being used as the go-to method for simplifying the assembly process. These are the many benefits manufacturers get from choosing pressure sensitive adhesive tapes as their appliance bonding solution.
PSA Tapes Allow for Enhanced Manufacturing Capabilities
Speed, accuracy, repeatability, and cleanliness, these are all important in appliance manufacturing, and PSA tapes allow assembly line workers to accomplish them all. You’d be hard-pressed to find a person who has never applied a piece of tape in their life. It’s just as hard to find someone who described the process as complicated. Unlike welding, drilling holes to for metal fasteners and screws, and other bonding solutions, applying PSA tapes requires no special skills or tools. They can often be done by hand and using a roller. This allows for faster, more accurate, and more repeatable application.
PSA tapes apply easily and have short dwell times. Many types of tape have a very high tack; they adhere immediately and gain bond strength over time. Unlike liquid adhesives, PSA tapes do not have to cure before forming a secure bond. They are also cleaner to apply and eliminate odors and cleanup, which makes for a much better and more comfortable work environment.
PSA tapes set thickness and width allow for the adhesive to be applied evenly. It takes a trained hand to apply liquid adhesives evenly, and even the most talented workers can still see starved bonds through squeeze out, experience bare spots, or areas where the adhesive is over-applied. PSA tapes are applied evenly across the surface every single time.
At Engineered Materials, we help appliance manufacturers speed up their manufacturing process by providing our custom die-cut PSA tapes in rolls and assembly kits with nested parts. We can custom die cut materials onto a single sheet of tape, enabling workers to apply tape quickly and reducing the costs of the materials by limiting waste.
PSA Tapes Increase the Appeal of Appliances
PSA tapes offer a low-profile bonding solution for everything from emblems and logos to trim and show surface attachment, increasing the visual appeal of appliances by eliminating drill holes, screws rivets, spot welds and other related finishing steps. Using PSA tapes can help appliance manufacturers replace up to 60 screws, washers, nuts, metal fasteners, and other bonding materials. Plus, since they use lighter gauge materials, this also aids in creating finished products that are more lightweight.
PSA Tapes Serve Dual Purposes
Besides bonding, PSA tapes serve other purposes in appliances. These materials can:
Insulate and shield from heat: many PSA tape materials have excellent thermal resistance, which is ideal for ovens, ranges, and microwaves.
Dampen sound and vibrations: PSA tapes can dampen the sound made by appliances like washing machines and dryers.
Seal and gasket: PSA tapes are ideal for protecting against environmental contaminants, moisture, etc.
Cushion and protect against shock and impact: PSA tapes act as a cushion in appliances, helping prevent breaks in the materials. In oven ranges, as an example, PSA tapes can help join metal frames to glass cooktops, absorbing the shock of pots and pans being placed on the surface.
Gap fill: since PSA tapes come in variety of gauges, they can be used to fill gaps between materials.
PSA Tapes Increase Appliance Durability
PSA tapes hold up much better over time when compared to mechanical fasteners and spot welds. Both methods of bonding create stress points in the materials they join, making them more susceptible to breaking due to impact and stress. This is especially the case in appliances that are prone to constant vibration, like washing machines and dryers. Constant vibration creates metal fatigue over time, resulting in shorter application lifespans and increasing the chances of appliance failure. PSA tapes not only dampen vibration, they provide a consistent bond across materials with no areas acting as stress points that can be susceptible to breaking.
PSA Tapes Bonds to All Types of Surfaces
From heavily textured and rough substrates to uneven or contoured surfaces, a variety of PSA tapes allow appliance manufacturers to securely bond complex surfaces to one another. Many types of PSA tapes wet and flow across substrate quickly, filling in the textured or rough areas of any substrate. Curved or angled surfaces also present bonding issues when using brackets, welds, etc. PSA tapes are flexible and easy to apply to these types of surfaces.
Plastics and powder coated surfaces, common in appliances, also present a bonding challenge for manufacturers. These surfaces are notoriously hard to bond without overcoming the surface characteristics of the material via welding or using some type of mechanical fastener. Thankfully, there are specifically designed PSA tapes that help overcome this challenge because they have added “tackifiers” that increase the tack of the adhesive. These tackifiers soften the adhesive resin system and allow it to wet out more effectively on low surface energy (LSE) substrates. Learn more about LSE tape options here.
Finally, double-sided PSA tapes allow manufacturers to use lighter weight substrates and to bond dissimilar materials, particularly metals. This creates a lighter weight, less costly product and a barrier that prevents galvanic reactions from occurring.
No matter what you are trying to bond, there’s a PSA tape that can help.