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The best adhesive for attaching VELCRO® Brand products to substrates? It depends.

Posted on Fri, Dec 04, 2015

Pressure Sensitive Adhesives
Pressure sensitive adhesives are considered semi-permanent bonds. VELCRO® Brand Hook and Loop tape can be glued to a substrate (surface) using pressure-sensitive backing. These are very popular due to their ease of use. Simply remove the release liner and press the tape in place.

  • Rubber-based pressure sensitive adhesives are most often used indoors at room temperature.
  • Acrylic pressure sensitive adhesives have strong tear resistance and moisture/temperature resistance. Acrylic adhesives adhere to most metals and many plastics.
  • Fire retardant pressure sensitive adhesives are used to meet burn test regulations. Certifications available to Government, OEM, Boeing and industry specific standards.

More Permanent Bonds Use Heat Welded/RF Welded/Solvent Welded
VELCRO® Brand Hook and Loop tapes can be welded to glass, metals and plastics for a more permanent bond. The right choice depends on the surface and the application requirements.

When materials such as plastics need to be welded together, a variety of heat sealing (melting the pieces together) machines or radio frequency (RF) energies (similar to a microwave oven) are used. RF/ultrasonic/dielectric energy heats and cools more quickly than conventional heating (like water boiled in a microwave oven) for shorter production cycle times.

Solvent welding is activated by Methyl Ethyl Ketone (MEK), acetone, or MCL. The solvent diffuses into the surface material allowing interdiffusion of the surface material and the tape. The weld is formed when pressure is applied.

Solvents can be used with liquid adhesives and can be used in ultrasonic welding for porous surfaces. 

Gleicher is an elite VELCRO® 'Preferred Converter' Distributor that expertly cuts to size with lasers, rotary and die cutting presses a wide variety of materials.

 

Learn More About Gleicher's VELCRO® Brand Application Review

 

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