Composites (Carbon fiber reinforced plastics, glass fiber reinforced plastics), ceramics, wood, polyolefins are used in product designs due to the weight, aesthetics, and performance advantages. Mechanical and thermal fastening methods are unsuitable for these design requirements. However, now industries are using liquid adhesives to meet the growing demand for bonding multiple substrates (even difficult-to-bond substrates).

Limitations with conventionally used methods:

  • High cost, complicated process and high precision molding needs for ultrasonic welding and silver brazing
  • Low resultant bond strength of local adhesives to multiple substrates
  • Inconsistent bonding with natural materials and difficult to bond plastics
  • Slow fixture times of local adhesives that lead to lower productivity
LOCTITE Solutions
All LOCTITE Structural bonding technologies (acrylics, epoxies, hybrids, polyurethanes, modified silanes) are suitable for multi substrate bonding. Selection depends on various factors, such as flexibility requirement, gap filling, service temperatures, comfort with 1-component or 2-component solution etc. LOCTITE Structural adhesives bring the following advantages:
  • Bonds low energy substrates

  • Cost effective

  • Low precision molding

  • Better gap filling

  • Cosmetically superior to mechanical fasteners

  • Better strength and reliability

  • Cure times can be accelerated basis requirements

  • Excellent chemical resistance

Some areas where LOCTITE’s ability to join multiple substrates has proven highly effective for manufacturers are:
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Case Studies

Increasing the output of your production line

A custom sign manufacturer used LOCTITE to increase its production output by 20%.

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Increasing the reliability if your assemblies

An elevator door manufacturer increased the reliability of their elevator doors with LOCTITE.

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Increasing productivity with a faster bonding solution

A choke and reactor manufacturer used LOCTITE for bonding a series of metal plates to polyester insulation to accelerate their production process.

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Increasing the reliability of your manufactured product

A high-performance hockey equipment maker used LOCTITE to bond hockey stick blades to shaft assemblies for more reliable product performance.

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Reducing warranty claims against your assemblies

A plastics molder used LOCTITE to replace ultrasonic welding used in the subassembly steps for the housing of a handheld electronic device.

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Help & Support

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frequently asked questions
Here's list of queries with responses that might help you.

We have been using welding for our structural requirement. Will structural adhesives be able to achieve the right strength?

LOCTITE structural adhesives have been proven to be able to take almost as much load as overlap welding and that too at only half the cost. LOCTITE adhesive also offer other advantages like making the process simple, and providing sealing along with bonding.

We use adhesive tapes. It is not messy. Wouldn’t using LOCTITE adhesives increase the process time and cost?

While double sided adhesive tapes are not messy, their application process is definitely very long and complicated – what with the need to cut to specific dimensions and expensive activators. LOCTITE adhesives are mostly applied through static mixers that ensures precise application without any mess.

We are using polypropylene and we have tried to use multiple methods and adhesives before, but they didn’t work. Which LOCTITE adhesives would be suitable?

There are many suitable LOCTITE structural adhesives based on acrylic, epoxy, modified silane and hybrid technologies that would be ideal for bonding polypropylene. Drop a query to our LOCTITE experts with the specifics of the application requirement and they will be able to recommend the right solution.

Replacing rivets is out of question – if we use adhesives, it will take longer to bond but with rivets we would be able to assemble instantly.

Rivets offer the advantage of instant assembly, however result into concerns of reliability because of uneven stress concentrate points that become fatigue and failure points and also lead to corrosion. Instead, LOCTITE structural adhesives offer better reliability and come in various cure types which can be further accelerated with the help of activators.

Can LOCTITE products withstand loads under extreme humidity and temperature conditions?

Yes, LOCTITE structural adhesives have been designed to withstand heavy loads under various ambient conditions. Especially, LOCTITE structural adhesives based on modified silane technology which cure in the presence of humidity, are excellent for outside applications where high temperature, UV resistance etc. features are preferred.

Which LOCTITE structural adhesives can bond rubber to metal?

LOCTITE structural adhesives based on acrylic, epoxy, modified silane technology and hybrids are excellent for bonding rubber to metal. Drop a query to our LOCTITE experts with the specifics of the application requirement and they will be able to recommend the right solution.

Is it possible to bond glass to glass or glass to metal with LOCTITE adhesives?

Yes, bonding dissimilar substrates like glass to metal or even glass to glass is possible with LOCTITE adhesives. If optical clarity and aesthetics is a must, choose clear epoxies like LOCTITE E-30 CL. Otherwise LOCTITE acrylics are also a great choice for bonding glass to metal or glass to glass. Prefer modified silanes if glass has to be fixed to a metallic frame. Drop a query to our LOCTITE experts with the specifics of the application requirement and they will be able to recommend the right solution.

Is any surface preparation needed before applying LOCTITE structural adhesives?

Removal of dirt, dust or other surface impurities from the surfaces to be bonded is important before adhesive application as they can interfere with the effectiveness of the bond strength. This can be achieved through either degreasing or abrasion. Chemical treatments like primers, corona discharge, flame and plasma treatments can also be used to modify the surface properties to further enhance bond strength.

What is meant by open time/working time/pot life of an adhesive?

Open time is the time within which parts should be assembled post application of the adhesive to ensure proper surface wetting and achieve maximum strength.

What does on part life of adhesive signify?

This term is relevant for adhesives where activator is used on one of the parts. On-part life is the time within which activator or primer provides full performance.

What is the difference between fixture time and full cure time?

Fixture time of an adhesive is the time needed to achieve enough strength to hold the parts together without additional support or to achieve lap shear strength of 0.1 N/mm2 whereas full cure time of an adhesive is the time needed to achieve full performance.

What is a hybrid adhesive?

Combination of two different adhesive technologies, which are normally stand-alone technologies and at the outset cannot be manually mixed. A Hybrid combines the positive attributes of both technologies which provides new performance parameter. LOCTITE Hybrid adhesives combine the speed of cyanoacrylates (commonly known as instant adhesives) with the strength of epoxies/acrylates to give universal that can bond anything in seconds providing high strength.