Browse through our explanations of commonly used terminology in the adhesive tape and tape converting industry. For a specific term use the search or filter options.
A type of backing used in electrical insulation tapes. This backing offers excellent absorption of electrical insulation resins and varnishes. View acetate cloth tapes here.
Ageing resistance is the degree of reliable performance of the tape over time, under certain conditions. Depending on the adhesive system being used, adhesive tapes are often usable for permanent applications. This permanence is reflected by the resistance of the adhesive against ozone (O3), oxygen (O2), UV light, temperature, humidity, water and different kinds of chemicals. Generally acrylic adhesives are much better suited to withstand these environmental influences than rubber adhesives and can maintain their permanent, reliable functionality over many years.
Adhesive failure describes the separation of adhesive either from backing or from the substrate. The other basic failure mechanism of an adhesive bond is “cohesive failure” which refers to a fracture in the middle of the bulk adhesive. Learn more in our guide to using adhesive tapes.
Adhesives are polymer materials that are used to join dissimilar materials. Adhesives may be classified in many ways, e.g. by mode of application and setting, chemical composition, cost, and suitability for various adherents and end products. The term “pressure sensitive adhesive” (PSA) is used to describe adhesives that are permanently tacky in dry form at room temperature. The most common pressure sensitive adhesives are acrylics, natural rubber/resin, and synthetic rubber/thermoplastic rubber.
A study to determine the degree of adhesion to skin of medical tapes or adhesives for up to 96 hours. Additionally, the amount of residue remaining on the skin after the material removal is assessed. For more information go to our device attachment to skin and wound care pages.
Adhesion is the interaction that develops between two dissimilar bodies when they are in contact. At the molecular level, adhesion is based on physical and in some cases chemical bonding. The strength of adhesion depends on the type of adhesive. Pressure sensitive adhesives build up adhesion under light pressure. The ultimate bonding strength is reached after 24-72 hours. Read our tips on getting the optimum adhesion from your adhesive tape.
Automated pick and place equipment for placement of difficult to handle adhesive components. Find out more here.
Bisco™ is a high performance silicone foam offering characteristics such as high resistance to temperature extremes, UV and ozone, high resilience to mechanical fatigue and excellent compression-set and creep resistance. See our foam and rubber page here for more information.
Materials which “carry” the adhesive. The backing also reinforces the adhesive tape and improves handling and processing properties. Most commonly used backing types are film backings (e.g. PET, PP, PVC, PE), paper based backings (e.g. non-woven, tissue), foam backings (e.g. PU, PE and PVC foams).
A specialty adhesive tape type is a transfer tape which has no backing. The adhesive is directly coated on the liner.
The operation of changing a jumbo roll of adhesive tape into a finished product by slitting, short roll winding and die-cutting. Parafix has over 45 years experience as a tape converting specialist; read more about our converting capabilities here.
The backing of an adhesive tape influences its ability to adhere to curved, rough or irregular surfaces. Conformable backings increase the contact area of adhesive and substrate. Foam backings are inherently conformable and can therefore compensate for surface irregularities between the two bonding substrates.
Stands for Computer Aided Design. It is the use of computer programmes to produce 2D or 3D graphical representations of physical objects. These programmes enable the user to perform calculations and analyse component design variants for determining an optimum shape and size for the final output. This minimises the requirement for tooling and physical prototypes at your component design stage. Parafix offer this capability in house, learn more here.
Fabric with a rubber or plastic back coating. Examples are insulation tapes (including glass cloth and acetate cloth) and medical tapes (nonwovens). Browse our range of single sided cloth tapes here.
A clean room is an environment with a controlled level of dust and other contaminants. Parafix has a class 7 clean room; compliant with BS EN ISO 14644-1, for the manufacturing of automotive, electrical and healthcare components. Learn more here.
Comprised of a backing material coated with adhesive on both sides. Usually one adhesive layer is covered with a release liner (closed side) in order to wind the PSA tape in roll form. In double sided tape production the backing is often pre-treated with a primer to enable a maximum anchorage between backing and adhesive.
View our range of double sided materials here.
Dual Lock™ is a 3M™ reclosable fastening system that is up to 12 times stronger than regular hook and loop systems. They offer temporary and invisible fastening for various applications, such as those within point of sale, signage and transportation.
A measure of the tape’s corrosive effect on an electrical conductor, particularly copper. This is particularly important in the selection of tapes for electrical insulation.
Where electro-magnetic interference and radio frequency interference is shielded in electronic devices. This can be achieved using various materials, including copper and aluminium tapes. Learn more here.
These are materials containing small holes (cells) distributed throughout the entire body. They can be either closed cell or open cell. Most common foams are:
Browse our foam materials here.
Thin, longitudinal threads of glass, polyester, nylon, or other high strength materials. View our filament reinforced tapes here.
Uniform, homogeneous, plastic webs. Learn more on our single sided film tape and medical grade film pages.
A high strength tape offering insulation and protection against high temperatures and/or flame. They also provide solvent and abrasion resistance. View our glass cloth insulating tapes here. We also offer acetate cloth tapes.
The glass transition temperature (TG) is the temperature at which the adhesive becomes brittle. It is important that the application temperature is distinctly above the TG of the adhesive (e.g. resealable bags that are stored in the fridge or freezer as it can prevent a safe reclosure of the bag). Learn more about storing your adhesive tape here.
A term usually used to characterise highly cohesive adhesive tapes. Advantages (compared to soft adhesives) include:
Disadvantages include:
A type of adhesive that is rendered tacky by application of heat and forms a bond on cooling. Browse our heat activated films here.
Moisture or even humidity can affect the performance of an adhesive, especially if applied under wet or very humid conditions. In this instance, the adhesive absorbs the humidity, which leads to reduced adhesion performance. This effect occurs especially with water-based acrylics, which should not be used under those conditions. In general an adhesive tape is humidity resistant when it resists contact with humid air or even water without negative effects on the adhesion properties. Humidity can also damage paper liners and lead to ‘bubbles’ on the surface of the tape. All acrylics have a good humidity resistance and filmic liners are more dimensionally stable than paper ones. Read our guide on the correct storage of your adhesive tape.
The ability of tape to prevent the flow of electrical current across its surface of the backing. Electrical insulation materials can be viewed here.
The ability of a tape to resist sudden impacts, pulls, or shocks as may sometimes be encountered by packages in transit or portable devices. Our range of foam tapes and VHB tapes are ideal for impact absorption.
Tapes which are used for electrical insulation. For more information, visit our electrical insulation tapes page.
Kapton® is the brand name for a polyimide film produced by DuPont. Browse our non-adhesive electrical insulation materials here.
A type of die-cutting where the cutter is adjusted to only cut the material and leave the liner or backing untouched.
A combination of two or more materials, which function as one backing on web. Learn more about laminating here.
Utilising laser technology to cut material. Often used to cut small and complicated geometries and to produce samples without tooling. Learn about our laser cutting capabilities here.
Anti-adhesive material which covers the adhesive on a double sided tape and prevents the adhesive from sticking to itself. The liner is used as a protection aid during handling, processing and storage. Most commonly used liner types are:
Silicone is used as a release system to avoid adhesion between liner material and adhesive.
Thin flexible sheets of metal, such as aluminium, copper and lead used as tape backings because of their inherent properties such as weather resistance, electrical conductivity and reflectivity. Browse our single sided foil tapes here.
The molecular movement over a long period of time of an ingredient from one surface to another when both are in contact. Migration may occur between tape components and the surface to which applied. Some plastic films (e.g. PVC) contain plasticisers which are apt to migrate into the tape adhesive, causing the adhesive to soften. Other ingredients like foaming, vulcanisation, age-resistant agents used for flexible seals migrate into the tape and can compromise the bond.
Nomex® is the brand name for an inherently flame-resistant aramid fibre that is manufactured by DuPont. For more information visit our non-adhesive insulation materials page or view our full range of insulation tapes here.
Critical surfaces to adhere to due to low surface energy. The lower the surface energy the lower the molecular attraction to the adhesive (adhesion). Typical materials are polyolefins such as PP and PE, but also PS, EVA and many powder painted surfaces. By surface pretreatment (e.g. corona treatment) the polarity can be modified to achieve higher surface energy and improved adhesion. Use of primers will also act as adhesion promoters.
Is a tape with a transparent, film-free isotropic adhesive, formulated specifically for electronic displays, that allows accurate colour and full display brightness while providing a long lasting, high strength bond. Browse optically clear tapes here.
The chemical ingredients evaporating from adhesives (e.g. monomer residues, solvents, etc.), especially under elevated temperature conditions. Often a concern in the automotive, aerospace and electronics industries, where chemical residues could affect electric circuits, for example. Browse low outgassing tapes here.
Polyurethane (PU) is a versatile material resistant to moisture, bacteria, chemicals and abrasion. It can be used for medical purposes as a breathable backing for wound dressing and device fixation, and as foam or rubber for a range of applications for gasketing, sealing, gap filling and cushioning.
Polar substrate which is easy to adhere to. Often used as a backing available in varying degrees of hardness. Suitable for electrical insulation and cable harnessing applications.
PTFE stands for Polytetrafluoroethylene and is a high-temperature tape used in applications requiring consistent performance and minimum shrinkage across a wide range of temperatures. They are extremely resistant to chemicals and have high arc resistance. Browse PTFE tapes here.
A coating applied to a surface (e.g. backing or a substrate) to prepare it for the application of an adhesive, improving bond performance between backing and adhesive or between tape and substrate. Learn more about surface preparation here.
A term used to describe a category of tape coated on one or both faces with a pressure sensitive adhesive. It is permanently tacky at room temperature and requires no activation by water, solvent or heat to adhere to a variety of surfaces upon contact. In some cases the adhesive may be further cured by heating after application. The bond strength may be increased by pressure and/or time.
A type of adhesive, which is permanently tacky at room temperature and when applied to a variety of surfaces, forms an immediate bond. The bond strength may be increased by pressure and/or time. Browse tapes here.
Poron™ is a high performance polyurethane foam offering characteristics such as excellent compression-set resistance, low outgassing, non-fogging, is flame retardant, non-corrosive to metal and will not become brittle and crumble. For more information see our foam and rubber page here.
A strong film with electrical, thermal, chemical and mechanical properties, which can withstand extreme temperatures and demanding environments. Browse polyimide products here.
The ability of an adhesive tape to maintain its properties under influence of plasticisers. In contact with plasticisers (e.g. a component of foam materials or soft PVC) the adhesive performance of adhesive tapes can be affected, especially with rubber based adhesives. Adhesive tapes with a film backing sometimes perform better since the film layer acts as a barrier against migration of plasticisers. Important for applications on EPDM or soft PVC profiles for instance.
An adhesive that has been designed to allow subsequent removal without damaging or contaminating the substrate under specified conditions. An example is protection films which offer temporary protection from potential scratching, marring, chipping, UV damage and dirt during manufacture, packing, storage, shipping and installation.
The force required to remove a unit width of pressure sensitive tape from a standard panel after it has been in contact with a release liner for a given period of time. This must be compared with the adhesion of the same tape that has not been in contact with the release liner to determine the degree of loss of adhesion.
Direct contact with solvents should be avoided, because they can penetrate into the adhesive and reduce the functionality of the tape. Therefore the substrate should be dry before the tape is applied. All acrylics, especially pure acrylics, have a good resistance to solvents contrary to rubber based adhesives.
Contrary to hard adhesives, soft adhesives flow easier into rough and textured surfaces and substrates.
Advantages (compared to hard adhesives)include:
Disadvantages:
A tape to which a pressure sensitive adhesive is applied to only one side of the backing. Browse single sided tapes here.
Shock resistance is a suddenly applied force on an adhesive bond. Under normal conditions (room temperature) the shock resistance of tapes is significantly higher. PSA tapes with a foam backing have an incorporated buffer system and therefore absorb shock much better than film tapes. Additionally, high coating weights and flexible backings of high quality film tapes can take over part of this buffer function.
Shear resistance is measured as a force required to pull the pressure sensitive material parallel to the surface to which it was affixed under specific conditions. The shear resistance of PSAs may be measured statically or dynamically. Static shear test methods use a constant load of longer test times. Dynamic shear tests measure the cohesion of the sample in a tensile tester under increasing load (force).
PSA tape without backing reinforcement. The adhesive is directly coated on to the release liner. Browse transfer tapes here.
VHB™ stands for Very High Bond and is a tape produced by 3M™. VHB™ tapes are high-strength and a proven alternative to screws, rivets, welds and other mechanical fasteners. This high-strength bonding tape permanently adheres one substrate to another while spreading the stress load across the entire length of the joint. Learn more here.
Often required in automotive and medical applications, the adhesive is applied to a controlled area of the backing in zones or stripes. Learn more about custom presentation options here.
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