Several new, high performance structural hot melt adhesives have been developed over the last 5 - 10 years that meet some of the challenges associated with traditional hot melt adhesives. These new advances are designed to help manufacturers reduce costs and improve manufacturing efficiencies. Yet with the most recent advances in hot melt adhesive technology, hot melt adhesives are not fully understood or utilized by most manufacturers.
Continuous improvements in the raw materials used to formulate hot melt adhesives have allowed adhesive manufacturers to engineer new high performance formulations available today. Raw materials include tackifying resins, waxes, antioxidants, plasticizers, and other fillers, which are incorporated into base hot melt resins to enhance adhesive performance. For example, natural or synthetic tackifiers are generally added to certain formulations to alter the adhesion, surface wetting, open time, polymer flexibility or tack of the adhesive. Waxes help diminish pellet blocking, reduce melt viscosity, and/or modify the tack or “green strength” of the adhesive. Antioxidants are used to prevent the resin from oxidizing and to aid in processing and storage tank stability of large volumes.
Today’s high performance structural hot melts, formulated with advanced raw materials, include ethyl vinyl acetate (EVA) adhesives for general purpose bonding, polyolefin adhesives for difficult-to-bond plastics, polyamide adhesives for severe environments, and reactive urethanes for elevated temperature or high flexibility requirements.
Continuous improvements in the raw materials used to formulate hot melt adhesives have allowed adhesive manufacturers to engineer new high performance formulations available today. Raw materials include tackifying resins, waxes, antioxidants, plasticizers, and other fillers, which are incorporated into base hot melt resins to enhance adhesive performance. For example, natural or synthetic tackifiers are generally added to certain formulations to alter the adhesion, surface wetting, open time, polymer flexibility or tack of the adhesive. Waxes help diminish pellet blocking, reduce melt viscosity, and/or modify the tack or “green strength” of the adhesive. Antioxidants are used to prevent the resin from oxidizing and to aid in processing and storage tank stability of large volumes.
Today’s high performance structural hot melts, formulated with advanced raw materials, include ethyl vinyl acetate (EVA) adhesives for general purpose bonding, polyolefin adhesives for difficult-to-bond plastics, polyamide adhesives for severe environments, and reactive urethanes for elevated temperature or high flexibility requirements.