The bonding process requires the use of adhesives to form a material bond between two or more assembly components. In addition to ordinary bonding applications, hybrid processes that include other functions such as sealing or heat dissipation in bonding are also becoming increasingly important. Traditional connection methods, such as welding or bolted connections, are increasingly being replaced by efficient bonding processes in industrial applications. The bonding process has a series of advantages, such as reducing part weight or simplifying part grasping.

What is the bonding process

The bonding process fundamentally consists of two steps: sealing the adhesive and fitting the parts (such as the cover plate and box). In industrial applications, both wire harness bonding and component bonding fixation require the use of bonding processes. Therefore, non flowing high viscosity single component or dual component materials based on polyurethane, silicone resin, or epoxy resin are often used. However, depending on different applications and required bonding properties, low viscosity adhesives and materials may also be chosen.

Bonding Instead of Welding or Bolting: Multiple Advantages of Non Destructive Bonding

Bonding instead of welding or bolted connections

With the emergence of new material combinations and the implementation of higher demand designs, bonding has become a key manufacturing process in many industries in recent years and decades. Many consumer electronic devices also quickly fail to function after adhesive failure. Bonding even holds a solid position in the fields of aviation, lighting, electrical, electronics, and automobiles. Today, a car contains approximately 15kg to 18kg of adhesives, which are used to encapsulate and bond chips and sensors, strengthen the body, and bond car interiors. Recommended reading: What types of sealants are used in modern automobile production? In the wind power industry, over 700kg of adhesive is even used to bond rotor blade half shells. Recommended Reading: Industry Applications | Application Solutions for Epoxy Structural Adhesive for Wind Turbine Blades. Depending on the adhesive used, the curing process may be affected by factors such as ultraviolet radiation, temperature (heating furnace system, infrared radiation, heating tools), humidity, or pressure. In recent years, mature bonding methods, such as bolted connections, welding, and riveting, increasingly require the supplementation of efficient bonding processes. To some extent, they have even been completely replaced, with verbal phrases such as "bonding instead of welding" or "bonding instead of bolts" appearing. This change is beneficial: bonding can connect parts without causing negative effects or even damaging them like riveting or welding.

Adhesive bonding

Because of this, bonding is often referred to as the "bonding technology of the 21st century". The advantages of this process are obvious: through bonding, the surface and precision structure of the part can be permanently combined, and this effect is a key indicator of the mechanical, aesthetic, and aerodynamic performance of the surface or workpiece. In lightweight structures, strong adhesives can significantly reduce the weight and energy consumption of parts, and prevent galvanic corrosion. In industrial applications, mixed processes have also become increasingly important. These are all modular bonding technologies, for example, they can provide durable bonding while sealing the bonding area. Even the use of thermal conductive adhesives can be classified into this category, as they not only ensure stable component connections but also provide effective heat dissipation. Thanks to the flexible adjustment of opening times and reactivity, the sealing of adhesive can be faster, and can be achieved through a more simplified part grabbing process. This allows the application of a dedicated bonding system to achieve shorter cycle times. With precise material formulations, it is even possible to save time and costs by combining and further processing the parts on-site, and fully curing the adhesive only when the parts are shipped. The complexity of the bonding process is often underestimated. In order to ensure effective and long-lasting bonding, especially in safety related applications, in addition to pure material encapsulation and subsequent bonding processes, upstream and downstream processes should also be considered. These processes include designs suitable for bonding, the use of appropriate cleaning and pre-treatment processes, and appropriate curing processes, including connecting the parts to be bonded.