Adhesive solvent cement

Thermoplastic materials are joined by either solvent cementing, thermal fusion, or by means of adhesives. Solvent cementing is the easiest and most... 

These materials may be bonded with epoxy, thermosetting acrylic, urethane, and nitrile-phenoUc adhesives. Special surface treatment is not necessary for adequate bonds. However, plasma treatment has been reported to provide enhanced adhesion. Solvent cementing and certain thermal welding methods can also be used with thermoplastic polyester. 

See also adhesion solvent cementing heat welding. 

Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene (ABS). ABS plastics are derived from acrylonitrile, butadiene, and styrene. ABS materials have a good balance of physical properties. There are many ABS modifications and many blends of ABS with other thermoplastics that can affect adhesion properties. ABS resin can be bonded to itself and to other materials with adhesives, by solvent cementing, or by thermal welding. 

Cellulosics are normally solvent-cemented unless they are to be joined to another substrate. In these cases, conventional adhesive bonding is employed. Polyurethane, epoxy, and cyanoacrylate adhesives are commonly used to bond cellulosics. Surface treatment generally consists of solvent cleaning and abrasion. Cellulosics can be stress-cracked by uncured cyanoacrylate adhesives and some components of acrylic adhesives. A recommended surface cleaner is isopropyl alcohol. 

Chlorinated Polyether. This thermoplastic resists most solvents and is attacked only by nitric acid and fuming sulfuric acids. Thus, it is not capable of being solvent-cemented. Chlorinated polyether parts can be bonded with epoxy, polyurethane, and polysulfide-epoxy adhesives after treatment with a hot chromic acid solution. Tensile shear strength of 1270 psi has been achieved with an epoxy-polysulfide adhesive. 

Because of their high thermal stability and excellent resistance to solvent, fluorocarbons cannot be joined by solvent cementing, and they are very difficult to join by thermal welding methods. Because of their inertness and low surface energy, they also tend to be difficult materials to join by adhesive bonding. Surface treatment is necessary for any practical bond strength to the fluorocarbon parts. 

Because of their excellent chemical resistance, polyolefins are impossible to join by solvent cementing. Because of their very low surface energy, polyolefins can only be adhesively bonded after surface treatment processes. The most common way of joining polyolefins is by thermal welding techniques. 

Polyethylene terephthalate cannot be solvent-cemented or heat-welded. Adhesives are the prime way of joining PET to itself and to other substrates. Only solvent cleaning of PET surfaces is recommended as a surface treatment. The linear film of polyethylene terephthalate (Mylar) provides a surface that can be pretreated by alkaline etching or plasma for maximum adhesion, but often a special treatment such as this is not necessary. An adhesive for linear polyester has been developed from a partially amidized acid from a secondary amine, reacted at less than stoichiometric with a DGEB A epoxy resin, and cured with a dihydrazide.72... 

Polystyrene is ordinarily bonded to itself by solvent cementing, although conventional adhesive bonding, thermal welding, and electromagnetic bonding have been used. When polystyrene is bonded to other surfaces, conventional adhesive bonding is usually employed. 

Adhesives recommended for polyphenylene sulfide include epoxies, and urethanes. Joint strengths in excess of 1000 psi have been reported for abraded and solvent-cleaned surfaces. Somewhat better adhesion has been reported for machined surfaces. The high heat and chemical resistance of polyphenylene sulfide plastics makes them inappropriate for either solvent cementing or heat welding. 

Abolins, V., and Eckert, J., Adhesive Bonding and Solvent Cementing of Polyphenylene Oxide, ... 

Most thermoplastic foams can be solvent cemented. However, some solvent cements will collapse thermoplastic foams. The best way to determine if such a problem exists is to try it. In cases where the foam collapses due to softening of the foam cell walls it is desirable to use water-based adhesives based on SBR or polyvinyl acetate, or 100%-solids adhesives. In general, the relatively amorphous thermoplastics, such as the cellulosics, polycarbonate, and polystyrene are easier to solvent cement than the crystalline materials, but there are exceptions. 

Some solvent cements and solvent-containing adhesives, such as pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs), will collapse thermoplastic foams by dissolving the cell walls. In such cases water-based adhesives based on SBR or polyvinyl acetate, or 100%-solids adhesives are often used (1). 

Polystyrene Although polystyrene is usually bonded by solvent cementing, it can be bonded with vinyl acetate/vinyl chloride solution adhesives, acrylics, polyurethanes, unsaturated polyesters, epoxies, urea-formaldehyde, rubber-base adhesives, polyamide (Versamid-base), polymethylmethacrylate, and cyanoacrylates. The adhesives should be medium-to-heavy viscosity and room-temperature and contact-pressure curing. An excellent source is a Monsanto Company technical information bulletin which recommends particular commercial adhesives for bonding polystyrene to a number of different surfaces. Adhesives are recommended in the fast-, medium-, and slow-setting ranges (10). 

Polyethylene and Polypropylene Acceptable bonds have been obtained between treated polyolefin surfaces with polar adhesives, such as epoxies, or solvent cements containing synthetic rubber or phenolic resin. The solvent adhesives are applied to both surfaces and the solvents allowed to evaporate before the parts are joined. Recommended epoxies are the anhydride-cured and amine-cured types. Also suitable is a two-component, polyamide-modified epoxy compound. Other adhesives that provide adequate bond strength to treated polyolefins include styrene-unsatmated polyester and solvent-type nitrile-phenolic (15). 

Thermosetting Foam Substrates Most thermosetting plastics are not particularly difficult to bond. Obviously, solvent cementing is not suitable for bonding thermosets to themselves, since they are not soluble. In some cases solvent solutions can be used to join thermoplastics to thermosets. In general, adhesive bonding is the only practical method of joining a thermoset to itself or to a non-plastic material. Epoxies or modified epoxies are the most widely used adhesives for thermosets (1). 

This brief summary report describes the state of the art of all types of cellular materials, particularly plastics and elastomers. The report is organized in the form of a handbook and has an Introduction and sections on Types of Foams (Cellular Materials), Methods of Manufacture, Foam Properties, Solvent Cementing and Adhesive Bonding of Foams, Methods of Making Foams Conductive, and Applications. There are two Appendices, one on Standardization Documents (Test Methods, Practices and Specifications) and the other on Definitions. 

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