Polyetheylene to Polycarbonate - Adhesive

[Stevo123]

Hello,

I am working on a project for work and I am finding a real hard to time to find an adhesive that would stick Polyetheylene to Polycarbonate. I know there are some adhesives that are out in the market however they are flammable and therefore cannot be used in our manufacturing environment.

I need your expertise. Please advise.

Thank you for response in advance.

Steve

 

[robyengIT]

to STEVO123

Sorry for you but POLYETHYLENE, POLYPROPYLENE and PTFE have no adhesive, not at all. The only possibility is mechanical connection

 

[Compositepro]

There are adhesives available but the most important factors in making them work is proper surface treatment of the plastic. Etching with sodium is used for Teflon. Plasma treatment is another option for any plastic. Then there is the question of whether the resulting bond strength insufficient for your purpose. But, if using solvent is a deal breaker, then I think you are not really serious about finding a solution.

 

[TomQuinn]

Much depends on the application. How much bond strength do you need? Low/high temp resistance? Solvent resistance? Are the substrates thin films, sheets? How do you test for bond strength? Will you be making a thousand units/minute? Hand application?

Tom Quinn
Adherent Laboratories

http://www.adherentlabs.com

 

[Stevo123]

CompositPro - with regards to plasma treatment do you think corona treatment would work, or would that just "help" but not solve the issue on hand?

TomQuinn and CompositPro - I will give you more info on what I'm trying to do.

I'm trying to adhere a motion sensor lens to a polycarbonate plastic housing.

There is a small gap all the away around the sensor that needs to be filled. The housing has a "bowl" for the adhesive to sit in. The adhesive will be dispensed with an automated equipment.

The sensor itself is only good for +60°C so any adhesive must have an application temperature lower than that. The adhesive must also be clear when cured. This will eventually be build for production quantities - not sure exactly how many per hour but definitely not thousands/minute.

Thanks for the quick responses.

Steve

 

[Compositepro]

Corona treatment is just a variety of plasma treatment. It works well, but should be done just minutes before bonding.

For your application a soft silicone rtv sealant should work fine.

 

[TomQuinn]

Corona treatment is just a variety of plasma treatment. It works well, but should be done just minutes before bonding.

For your application a soft silicone rtv sealant should work fine.

I was thinking the same thing. The requirement of being clear with low application temperature limits the options.

Tom Quinn
Adherent Laboratories

http://www.adherentlabs.com

 

[SceneryDriver]

This may work for you, although it dries through solvent evaporation. That may eliminate it from your consideration. Why can't you use a solvent-based adhesive?

I've used this before with reasonably good results on polyethylene tubing; it will stick with no surface prep, albeit with a somewhat low bond strength. It also sticks to polycarbonate well. It's cure time is temperature dependent, and will take a while in thicker applications.

http://www.amazon.com/Amazing-GOOP®-Marine-Cartridge-Adhesive/dp/B000KKOON4/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

SceneryDriver