When it comes to metal bonding, fasteners, welding and many other mechanical applications is what comes to everyone’s mind. However, with recent advancements in the field of science and technology, there have a considerable gain in the attention given to metal adhesives and metal tapes. They overcome the shortcomings of mechanical bonding methods and does so subtly. This article briefly discusses the metal adhesives and how they are efficient.
Binding metals with adhesives and tapes is highly possible and even recommended by many as the right solution to do so. However, the challenge lies in choosing the right adhesives as there are many products on the market and each have their unique properties. Therefore, it is up to one to carefully understand what type of metal they’re working on and what type of materials the glue is intended to be used for.
Why Choose Metal Glue?
One of the interesting characteristics of the metal glue is that it creates a chemical bond which is highly preferred to mechanical and welding applications in many cases: Especially in speciality products. In addition to being the cost-efficient option, metal glues also speed up the process in whole, relatively. For instance, mechanically attaching the metals will require fastening it, sealing and many other steps to ensure that the bond is string and perfectly sealed. However, in case of metal glues, the process is sped up in the assembly line as it eliminates most of the steps that is required in the mechanical binding of the metal. Moreover, their flexibility and the ability to move around without affecting the bond itself, makes it a great choice for applications that are usually under lot of mechanical stress, vibrations and fluctuations.
Adhesives vs. Fasteners
Fasteners are mechanical bonding parts such as bolts and crews that can be used up to hold temporary joints and sometimes going a notch above and being used for permanent joints such as welding applications. Fasteners require to be placed in the right holes, with the correct orientation and is prone to other environmental factors such as corrosion and they may loosen over time.
In order to address these shortcomings and help act as a substitute is where the metal adhesives come into the picture. As mentioned earlier, fasteners are simply temporary joints. So, for the application of holding temporary joints, metal adhesives and tapes can be used as they do not leave any residue behind. Moreover, they also have several advantages over the fasteners such as the ability to move and be flexible: The ability to spread the stress applied evenly, preventing any catastrophic mechanical failures. Some metal adhesives also have unique properties such as thermal resistance and shock resistance. This makes them great for use in special applications such as being used in automobile manufacturing, furnaces etc. One more important application of these metal adhesives is that they can be used for a process called ‘Thread locking’, where the gaps in the mechanical joints are sealed by metal adhesives.
