ADHESIVES AND SEALANTS
Product Applications
- Formulation Development: Creating formulations by blending polymers, resins, and additives for desired properties such as adhesion strength, flexibility, and curing characteristics.
- Polymer Dispersion: Achieving uniform dispersion of polymers and resins in liquid carriers to create stable adhesive or sealant solutions with consistent properties.
- Filler and Reinforcement Dispersion: Dispersing and blending fillers, reinforcing agents, and additives to enhance the mechanical properties and performance of adhesives and sealants.
- Colorant Dispersion: Ensuring even dispersion of pigments and colorants in adhesives and sealants to achieve consistent color and appearance in the final product.
- Microsphere Dispersion: Dispersing microspheres or other additives to modify rheological properties, providing specific functionalities like thixotropy.
- Curing Agent Mixing: Blending and dispersing curing agents or initiators to promote the curing or setting, controlling the timing and strength of the bond.
- Hot-Melt Adhesive Processing: Melting, blending, and dispensing hot-melt adhesives, which solidify upon cooling, for applications such as packaging, bookbinding, and product assembly.
- Reactive Adhesive Processing: Mixing and dispersing components of reactive adhesives, such as two-part epoxies or polyurethanes, to initiate chemical reactions and achieve desired properties.
- Pressure-Sensitive Adhesive (PSA) Production: Formulating and processing adhesives with controlled tackiness and peel strength for applications like labels, tapes, and medical adhesives.
- Sealant Emulsion Preparation: Creating stable emulsions for water-based sealants, ensuring proper dispersion of polymers, fillers, and additives for optimal performance.
- Silicone Sealant Mixing: Blending and dispersing silicone polymers, fillers, and cross-linking agents to formulate silicone sealants with specific properties like flexibility and weather resistance.
- UV-Curable Adhesive Processing: Formulating adhesives that cure rapidly under ultraviolet (UV) light, requiring precise mixing and dispersion of photoinitiators and reactive monomers.
- Low-VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) Adhesive Production: Developing environmentally friendly adhesives with reduced VOC content, necessitating precise dispersion and blending of low-VOC components.
- Adhesive and Sealant Testing Samples: Preparing small batches or samples for testing purposes, requiring accurate mixing and dispersion to replicate larger production conditions.
Processing Challenges
- Material Homogeneity: Achieving consistent and uniform dispersion of diverse components, including polymers, fillers, and additives, to ensure the desired properties in the final adhesive or sealant product.
- Viscosity Control: Managing variations in viscosity, especially for high-viscosity formulations, to maintain proper flow characteristics during processing with dispersers and mixers.
- Color Consistency: Achieving uniform dispersion of colorants to ensure consistent color throughout the product, especially critical in applications where aesthetics are essential.
- Degassing: Effectively removing entrapped air and gases during the mixing and dispersing processes prevents voids, bubbles, and surface defects. This is crucial for maintaining reliable product performance.
- Thixotropic Behavior: Controlling the thixotropic behavior of the adhesive or sealant to ensure proper application and prevent issues such as sagging or uneven coverage.
- Temperature Sensitivity: Addressing the impact of temperature on the processing of heat-sensitive materials, ensuring that curing or setting reactions occur optimally without compromising quality.
- Abrasive Wear on Equipment: Managing wear and tear on milling and mixing equipment due to abrasive materials, ensuring durability and consistent performance over time.
- Scale-Up Challenges: Adapting laboratory-scale processes to larger industrial scales while maintaining precision, consistency, and efficiency in material dispersion and blending.
Recommended Processing Equipment
Schold Customer Spotlight
ITW Polymers Sealants
ITW Polymers is a worldwide manufacturer of sealants, adhesives, coatings, lubrication and cutting fluids for industrial, construction and consumer purposes; chemical fluids which clean or add lubrication to machines; epoxy and resin-based coating products for industrial applications, and hand wipes and cleaners for industrial applications.
“We have a Schold twin-shaft disperser and called for service on a pulley bearing that was deteriorating after years of use. John the VP picked up, diagnosed the issue, immediately sent a tech to restore the part, and the machine is back to running like new. When you need it most, Schold is there for you.”
-Syedzia Rizvi, Maintenance Manager
ITW Polymers is a worldwide manufacturer of sealants, adhesives, coatings, lubrication and cutting fluids for industrial, construction and consumer purposes; chemical fluids which clean or add lubrication to machines; epoxy and resin-based coating products for industrial applications, and hand wipes and cleaners for industrial applications.
“We have a Schold twin-shaft disperser and called for service on a pulley bearing that was deteriorating after years of use. John the VP picked up, diagnosed the issue, immediately sent a tech to restore the part, and the machine is back to running like new. When you need it most, Schold is there for you.”
-Syedzia Rizvi, Maintenance Manager
TRUSTED ADHESIVES AND SEALANTS COMPANIES USING SCHOLD EQUIPMENT:
