Hot melt adhesive, or hot glue, is a type of thermoplastic adhesive that needs to be heated up prior to use, and which then physically sets and is completely solid at room temperature.
It is designed to be melted in a hot glue gun, which uses a continuous duty, heating element to keep the glue melted as it is pushed through the gun either manually by the user, or by a mechanical trigger mechanism. Hot melt adhesives can also be applied by either dipping or spraying.
Application needs to be relatively quick, as although the glue is liquid and tacky when hot, it solidifies in under a minute.
Hot melt adhesives are ideal for applications that require high speed manufacturing, bonding versatility, fast green strength, large gap filling and minimal shrinkage.
Advantages of Hot Melt Adhesives
Hot melt adhesives provide several advantages over solvent-based adhesives in industrial use. They have a long shelf life, require no special environmental controls, and can usually be disposed of without having to take special precautions. Their use reduces, or completely eliminates, volatile organic compounds, and cuts out the drying or curing step.
Other advantages include:
* High line speeds due to fast bond formation – this makes them ideal for highly automated manufacturing lines that demand rapid bond formation, such as packaging, bookbinding, footwear and many more industries.
* Allows bonding of two non-porous surfaces
* Flexible part design is possible because of the wide variety of application methods
* Can be used in high humidity environments
* Gap filling allows for greater tolerances in part design
* EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate)-based hot melts are very economical for case sealing applications
* Unlike water-based or solvent-based adhesives, hot melt adhesives do not require drying time and begin bonding almost immediately after application.
Hot Melt Adhesive Manufacturers
Different hot melt adhesive manufacturers produce different adhesives for different applications. Pressure sensitive hot melts, for example, are tacky to the touch at room temperature, and are commonly used in the labeling industry, and for tape manufacturing for diapers, feminine hygiene products and bottling industries.
Amorphous polyolefins are used in applications where the substrates are difficult to bond. The ability to extend the open times of this adhesive makes it popular for hand work applications.
RapidBond manufactures rb-961 hot melt adhesives, an economical packaging adhesive offering excellent performance in all temperatures, making it the hot melt of solution for corrugated packaging. For more details, visit rapidbond.net
