Bonding silicone to plastic – medical device cushioning pad

Bonding silicone to plastic – medical device cushioning pad

  • Die-cut solution for bonding silicone to plastic in automated assembly process

    Our customer came to us for help with sourcing an adhesive tape for bonding silicone to plastic. The application was to bond a cushioning pad to a medical device. All standard silicone tapes failed to bond to this particularly difficult silicone, so a bespoke solution was required.

    Parafix worked closely with a supplier to develop an adhesive system that would bond to silicone rubber, as well as to the medical device which was an injection moulded plastic. Suitable adhesives were identified and a differential tape was manufactured for bonding silicone to plastic, each substrate requiring a different adhesive type.

    During the process the customer identified their need for accurate assembly of their die-cut components using pick and place equipment. Parafix designed an assembly method using a vacuum jig and developed the component presentation with location features to enable fast and accurate assembly.

    Read about this project in more detail below.

    Die-cut solution for bonding silicone to plastic in automated assembly process
  • Project requirements
    Project requirements
    1. Bond a cushioning pad to a medical device
    2. Bond to a difficult to bond to silicone
    3. Bond to a difficult to bond to low surface energy plastic
    4. Accurate assembly
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    Our solution
    Our solution
    1. Formulated bespoke silicone adhesive with supply partner (to bond to silicone rubber)
    2. Combined the formulated silicone with a low surface energy acrylic (for bonding to the plastic) to create a hybrid tape
    3. Developed a presentation with location features that allowed fast, repeatable and accurate assembly
    4. Designed an assembly method using a vacuum jig
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    Key benefits
    Key benefits
    1. Allowed originally selected substrates to be used
    2. Single bonding product allowed faster assembly time
    3. Presentation and assembly method allowed accurate and repeatable assembly
    4. Securely joined two difficult to bond to materials with one solution
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