Depending on the industry and application, adhesive tapes are exposed to a wide variety of temperatures.
The high-quality industrial adhesives used by CMC Klebetechnik are resistant to aging and can be used in wide temperature ranges.
Polysiloxane adhesives are the most flexible adhesives because they can be used from -80°C up to 350°C. In addition, they still adhere well even to repellent surfaces.
Acrylic adhesives and rubber adhesives cover a wide range of applications and are available in many specialized versions. Despite further developments in synthetic rubbers, acrylic adhesives are predominantly used today. They have high initial adhesion, excellent aging stability and can be used at -40°C....180°C if selected appropriately.
Heat-activated adhesives are made from polymers such as polyester, polyurethane or epoxy. In many cases, the adhesive softens again at the melting temperature when heated (except for post-curing versions). They achieve high adhesive forces and are non-sticky at room temperature, which can have advantages during processing.
Since the adhesives used by CMC are all amorphous polymers, they do not have a defined melting point. A significant change in the physical behavior of plastics is rather called "glass transition point (TG)". In the case of conventional acrylate-based industrial adhesives, this is around -30...-40°C. At these temperatures, the flexible polymer chains solidify and the adhesive becomes brittle, similar to glass. Mechanical vibrations and hard impacts can lead to detachment of the bond at these temperatures (breakage of the adhesive or the adhesive bond). Bonding is also not possible at these temperatures.
For cold applications (e.g. frozen packaging), there are special adhesive formulations, e.g. from BASF, which still perform their task as an adhesive at -80°C.
Heat, on the other hand, is generally much better tolerated by adhesives, although the holding force (shear strength) of many adhesives is reduced when heated. Many of the adhesives used by CMC Klebetechnik achieve high adhesive forces at elevated temperatures. In most cases, it is rather the base material used that forms the limit of the adhesive tape's continuous service temperature. In general, acrylic adhesives can be used up to 180°C, while polysiloxane adhesives can withstand 350°C for short periods. Given a sufficiently long time, "caking" of the adhesives occurs. Polysiloxane adhesives resist this curing significantly longer than rubber or acrylate adhesives.
Temperature and adhesives - possibilities and limits