Help on adhesive bonding of electroless nickle plated plastic parts

[plastictom]

We currently are having trouble bonding electroless copper/nickle plated structrual foam plastic parts together. We have good results with acrylic adhesives, but would like to move up to epoxy for stronger joints. The parts are quite large (32 x 18), but have large glue surfaces (1/2" min). Also, the parts have either a tongue and groove or lap joint construction (no butt joints), with a .005" adhesive gap built in. Five parts are to be bonded together to form a chassis half and it takes approximately 12 minutes to apply the adhesive (250 linear inches) to all the joint surfaces and apply the clamping fixtures. End use would be in a controlled office environment. We are currently working with adhesive suppliers but would like any help or suggestions on different types of structural adhesives forum members may have had real world experience with.

 

[IRstuff]

While I don't encourage double-posting, you might ask the moderators if you can get this question moved to:
forum728, which is the Adhesives & sealants engineering forum

TTFN

 

[alderetm]

What specifically was the trouble you had with this bonding method? Might it be related to surface preparation?

Michael Alderete
Mech Packaging Engineer
DRS Technologies-Sensors & Targeting Sys
Anaheim CA

 

[Uge]

Ditto, perhaps you have not yet found the correct adhesive for your materials and possibly you need to prep the surfaces, chemically and mechanically clean them.
I would look for thermal cure adhesives if heat is not an issue, you will find best results with those.

Gene
Packaging/Cooling Engineer
evzene@hotmail.com

 

[rmetzger]

I had problems with bonding strength on electroless nickel surfaces using an Ellsworth 965 adhesive on a project and it was solved by simply roughing up the plated surface. A few passes with 100 grit paper was all that was required to stop the failure we were having - previously the epoxy would simply break pr peel off the plated material. What type of failure are you experiencing?