Bond failure product design

Adhesion, whether the bonding of polymers or the adhesion of coatings to polymer surfaces, is a recurring and difficult problem for all industries that use these materials as key components in their products. Designers must often select specially formulated and expensive polymeric materials to ensure satisfactory adhesion (albeit even these materials often require surface preparation). In some cases, entire design concepts must be abandoned due to the prohibitive cost of the required polymer or the failure of crucial bonds. 

It is possible, through poorly designed or maintained production systems, to make bonded components that appear to be visually satisfactory but suffer from low adhesive strength or from minor edge failures that will develop in service to a catastrophic failure. One hundred percent testing may find such failures, but the best results will always come... 

Selection of an assembly method is a critical step in the overall design process. It should be analyzed at the same time as other factors so that all elements contribute effectively to the product. Failure to do so raises the risk of discovering errors after the material has been selected and the mold fabricated. It is not safe to assume that a suitable bonding process exists for every combination of design, materials, and product operating environment. 

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