Adhesive tapes: an overview

What are tapes and what are tapes used for?

Adhesive tapes are a combination of a material and an adhesive film and are used to join or glue things together rather than fasten, screw or weld.

The attachment of adhesive tapes instead of mechanical fasteners allows for a simplification of the manufacturing processes.

In addition, adhesive tapes can protect surfaces so that the surface is not damaged when using fasteners or screws. Adhesive tapes are also used for electrical insulation, heat dissipation or media sealing.

Adhesive tapes are good solutions for automated product manufacturing, while liquid adhesives are messy and time-consuming as they have to be sprayed or rolled onto the surface before gluing.

What are adhesive tapes made of?

Adhesive tapes consist of a material called a backing material (e.g. paper, plastic film, cloth, foam) coated with an adhesive and covered with a release liner if necessary.

The adhesive-coated backing is then wound up into a jumbo roll. The jumbo roll is then slit into narrow ribbons to produce multiple small rolls, or short rolls. Each roll and its composition is unique and can be tailored to specific applications for a variety of bonding solutions.

How are adhesive tapes used?

Adhesive tapes can be pressure sensitive, thermally activated, or even require moisture to function. In many cases, the adhesive tape is used in roll form, but stamped parts are also often made from adhesive tape.

The most popular types of adhesive tapes:

What types of pressure sensitive adhesives are there?

Pressure Sensitive Adhesives (PSAs) are sticky at room temperature in dry form. They adhere firmly to a variety of surfaces and require only the use of a finger or hand or pressure tool. PSAs do not require water, solvent, or heat activation to adhere to materials such as paper, plastic, glass, wood, cement, and metal. The recommended adhesion pressure is 14,5 - 29 psi =^ 10 - 20 N/cm². The temperature during application should be moderate, anywhere between 15ºC and 35ºC. Lower temperatures could result in insufficient 'wetting' or 'covering' of the adhesive on the substrate. Very high temperatures can cause the tape to stretch during application, which could create additional stresses in the end use.

Heat activated tape is normally tack-free until activated by a heat source. Heat activated tape takes time to bond at elevated temperatures of 80˚C or higher. Heat-activatable adhesive enables aggressive bonding to difficult surfaces such as rubber, EPDM, PU and PVC-based plastic materials. It can be manufactured with different supports suitable for a variety of applications.

Water activated tape, Gummed Paper Tape or Gummed Tape is a starch or bone glue based adhesive applied to a kraft paper backing. When wetted, this coating becomes tacky. Water activated tape is inexpensive and used to close and seal boxes. the dr Dietrich Müller GmbH does not offer this adhesive tape, but uses it to seal cardboard boxes.

What types of adhesives are used for adhesive tapes?

Choosing the right adhesive for a project requires a good understanding of the application and the substrate or backing being used. In the applications of the Dr. Dietrich Müller GmbH mainly uses the following adhesives:

• Acrylic adhesives offer excellent environmental resistance and cure faster than other adhesives.
• Epoxy resins exhibit high strength and low shrinkage when cured and are known for their toughness and resistance to chemical and environmental damage.
• Rubber-based adhesives offer highly flexible connections and are usually based on butadiene-styrene, butyl, polyisobutylene or nitrile compounds.
• Silicone adhesive (polysiloxane) and sealants have high flexibility and are resistant to very high temperatures.
• Polyurethane and isocyanate adhesives offer more flexibility, impact resistance, strength and durability.

More information about adhesives for adhesive tapes

Which materials are used for the carrier of the adhesive tapes?

Adhesive tapes and foils differ in terms of the carrier or carrier material. Here are the most common carriers / carrier materials that the Dr. Dietrich Mueller GmbH used:

• Paper Industry : Paper tape products have a paper backing. This can also be creped. The tapes are also called crêpe tapes.
• tissue : A fabric backing often includes a fabric or layer of fabric for reinforcement, added strength, and heat resistance. Synthetic and glass fabrics are used here.
• felt and fleece : Felt or fleece tapes are often applied to substrates to prevent scratches.
• Foam material : Adhesive-Coated Foam Backing Tape contains an adhesive protected by a liner. Foam is commonly used for caulking, weathering, and assembly.
• Rubber : A conformable rubber electrical insulating and sealing tape can be made with a rubber backing. There are also self-merging variants.
• metal foil : Aluminum, aluminum-reinforced and leaded substrates withstand flame, extreme temperatures and high humidity. Metal tapes are typically designed to seal joints and seams against moisture or vapor. Aluminum foil is laminated to paper or plastic film for greater strength. Copper foils are used in the manufacture of multilayer printed circuit boards (PCB).
• plastic films : There are generally two categories of plastics: thermoplastics and thermosets. Plastic film products contain one or more layers of plastic. They consist of a plastic film that can be transparent, coloured, printed or unprinted. They can be single or multi-layer and combined with materials such as paper and/or aluminium. Dietrich Müller GmbH processes in particular polyester films, polyimide filmn and PVC films.
• PET/polyester : Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) / polyester products use a PET or polyester backing in the form of a film or laminate. Mylar or hostaphane is often used as the carrier material.
  
• Polyimide : polyimide tape consists of a polyimide film and a heat-resistant silicone adhesive or an acrylate adhesive. Polyimide films are useful substrates for making flexible circuit materials. Polyimide film retains its excellent physical, mechanical, chemical and electrical properties over a wide range.
• PVC/Vinyl : Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) / Vinyl products use a vinyl or PVC backing to resist wear, weathering and abrasion.
• Silicone Sealant : Silicone is a great product for gaskets, insulators, gap pads and stampings. Many kinds of silicone backing can be used to meet different needs. These include, in particular, fabric reinforcements.
• acrylic sheets : Acrylic films are plastic or thermoplastic resin films manufactured from polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) or polymethyl 2-methylpropanoate. Acrylic films have excellent clarity and are UV stable.
• glass / fiberglass : Fiberglass composite material or a glass layer provides exceptional stability in harsh environments by resisting shrinkage, rotting or burning.
• Filament : Filament tape, commonly known as strapping, consists of thousands of filaments (usually fiberglass) woven into yarns and embedded in the adhesive. It is a strong and versatile material that allows users to bundle similar or oddly shaped items together for shipping or storage. There are also filament tapes reinforced with a polyester film.
• Fluoropolymer/PTFE/PVDF : Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is an insoluble compound with high chemical resistance and a low coefficient of friction. Fluoropolymer films, layers or coatings are made from plastics such as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) or polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF). Fluoropolymer is commonly used in applications that require excellent chemical resistance, good dielectric properties, and water and dirt repellency. It is also used in applications where the material to be conveyed must not stick to the belt, fabric or laminate.
• transfer tape :Transfer tape consists of a thin, unbacked adhesive film that can be applied to most dry surfaces as a peel-off adhesive. Transfer tapes often use a peel-off liner to improve tape handling and application.
• Double-sided adhesive tapes : double-sided adhesive tapes consist of carrier materials that are coated on both sides. Each side can have different adhesive strengths. The cover foils are made of paper, foil or silicone.

Stamped parts from adhesive tape

From all adhesive tapes, Dr. Dietrich Mueller GmbH stampings or die-cut or bonded parts used in a variety of applications.

Stamped parts made of adhesive tape can be supplied on a roll, as a stamped part on a roll, as a single part or as a stamped part stored in a magazine. There are also many options when it comes to quantities. Stamped parts can be manufactured in small series or in large series as mass stamped parts.