Polymer adhesives

What are MS polymer adhesives? These are the so-called adhesives. hybrid based on modified polymers. Similar adhesives, i.e. soft after setting, include polyurethanes and silicones. They are often confused with each other, even though they differ in basis and partly in properties. About the pros and cons later. Differences and similarities between: polymers, polyurethanes and silicones. after bonding, we obtain a soft and flexible surface - it differs depending on the version. However, while in silicones we do not obtain a hardness other than soft rubber, and in polymers we "reach" 60 SHa, polyurethanes can have any hardness. all these groups can be found in one-component and two-component versions (for those less familiar - silicones and polymers are also available in versions for manual mixing or through a static mixer) There are definitely more differences: The most user-friendly for the user and the environment are silicones and MS-polymers due to the lack of harmful and volatile compounds, as is the case with polyurethanes - isocyanates therefore cannot be used in contact with food and in food processing rooms (interesting fact - polyurethane, even after full drying 24 hours and seasoning for 7 days, continues to emit harmful compounds - you already know why these adhesives are abandoned) The disadvantage of ms and polyurethanes is low resistance to temperature, i.e. up to about 80 - 100 degrees, while some versions of silicones reach 300 degrees. Bond strength - this is also an important point to consider. Silicones are the weakest of this group, followed by polymers and finally polyurethanes; however, comparing the elasticity carefully, the polymer is not much weaker because the forces in the product reach up to 4 Mpa. Where and for what do we use polymer adhesives? when joining small and large elements, especially two different materials, which may expand differently with temperature changes, thanks to which the adhesive is able to absorb these stresses without damaging the weaker material, e.g. aluminum with plexiglass, steel frame with aluminum sheet or a dibond-type composite board. in places of high humidity or total immersion in water. for sealing surfaces where silicone is currently used. Properties, advantages and disadvantages of polymers no solvents and harmful volatile compounds (not all of them - producers of cheaper products add cheap fillers) good adhesion to surfaces without primers (on some of them, of course, such a need may arise, but it is not a rule and it results more from the properties of of the material itself, e.g. wood, although the ms polymer itself sticks very well, we use primer-primer so that moisture does not "enter" into the center. When fully immersed, it does not push the adhesive from the inside or aluminum and powder coated surfaces may also require the use of primer, e.g. ATK P200. leveling the shrinkage and expansion of the material, especially when large surfaces are heated, e.g. plexiglass, it can change the size by 1 cm! for each meter. they are taken into account while designing Relatively low strength compared to, for example, m ethacrylics or epoxies, and the recommended thickness of the adhesive between the surfaces is 1 mm and more. Nomenclature of these glues and origin. Without going into details, we can assume (this is often recognized by customers) that: ms polymer = polymer adhesive = flexible adhesive = like silicone = hybrid adhesive (the latter designation can also be used for modified epoxides and polyurethanes). Polymer ATKs are manufactured in Europe by the largest factory of these products and currently the most advanced component line.