Selecting an adhesive for an enclosure gasket involves more than choosing a material based on a single peel-strength value. The adhesive must interact effectively with the foam or silicone while meeting performance requirements and fitting into the manufacturing process.
That is the focus of the first elective course from the Enclosure Institute™, featuring 3M™ adhesive expertise and Rogers Corporation foam and silicone materials.
In this course, 3M application experts explore properties engineers should evaluate when selecting adhesives and walk through a bonding study they performed using their adhesives and various Rogers Corporation materials. The study examines how different adhesive and foam combinations behave during peel testing.
For Marian, the study highlights an important part of enclosure gasket design: material selection, bonding, and converting should be considered together rather than as separate steps.
*Disclaimer: the Enclosure Institute™ is a free educational resource created by Marian, Inc. and Rogers Corporation to help engineers navigate enclosure sealing with expert guidance.
Adhesive Selection Starts with the Material You're Laminating
An adhesive that performs well on one material may behave differently on another. Foam properties, surface characteristics, adhesive chemistry, and surface preparation can all influence how well an adhesive will bond to a material. For enclosure applications, this becomes particularly important when selecting pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSA) that will be used with foam gasket materials.
The 3M and Rogers study evaluated multiple adhesive constructions with a range of Rogers PORON® polyurethane and BISCO® silicone foam materials. The purpose was not to identify one adhesive as universally the best option, but instead to provide insight into how different adhesive and material combinations behave under controlled test conditions.
What Can Peel Testing Reveal?
Peel testing provides a useful way to compare adhesive constructions, but the measured value is only part of the story. The location and type of failure provide additional information about the interaction between the adhesive and foam material.
Depending on construction and test conditions, the adhesive may:
- release cleanly
- tear the foam before the adhesive interface releases
- cause the foam to split internally
The study conducted by 3M and Rogers provides an opportunity to see these interactions firsthand using multiple adhesive and foam combinations.
The complete testing methodology, results, and insights are available in the Foam Bonding Quick Guide: PORON® Polyurethane & BISCO® Silicone Foams downloadable available through the Enclosure Institute™.
Silicone Foam Requires Additional Consideration
Silicone foam creates unique bonding challenges because of its surface characteristics and low surface energy. This doesn't make bonding an adhesive to silicone impossible, but it can be a little more challenging.
Selecting an adhesive designed for silicone is one consideration. Surface preparation like corona treating also offers more adhesive options for you to achieve the desired bond.
Marian can corona treat materials like silicone foams to alter the surface energy and allow for a reliable bond. This provides engineers with additional options when developing die-cut BISCO silicone foam components with pressure-sensitive adhesives.
Silicone foam material passing through the corona treater to alter the surface energy
Surface treatment is one example of why adhesive selection should be considered alongside the converting process. The final construction is influenced by the adhesive material, lamination material, enclosure substrate, surface preparation, lamination process, and converting conditions.
From Material Selection to Finished Gasket
For an engineer developing an enclosure seal, choosing the foam and adhesive is just the beginning. The selected construction must still be converted into a component that can be manufactured consistently and integrated into the enclosure assembly.
Marian works closely with 3M and Rogers as a Preferred Converter of their materials, giving engineers direct access to material expertise from the technical experts at each supplier while also providing the converting capabilities needed to produce finished components.
Depending on the application, Marian can laminate adhesive to foam, corona treat silicone surfaces, and die-cut the resulting constructions into custom gaskets, seals, pads, and other components. Considering these manufacturing requirements early helps engineers evaluate material combinations with the finished component in mind.
Factors such as gasket geometry, material thickness, adhesive placement, tolerances, liner configuration, application method, and production volume all play a part in influencing the final design.
Learn From 3M Adhesive Experts
In this elective course, we're brought in experts from 3M to add an additional perspective to the Enclosure Institute's content.
Nick Labelle, 3M Application Engineer, and Jordan Prins, 3M Activation Marketer, join the course to discuss 3M adhesive technology, adhesive selection considerations, and the bonding study performed with Rogers materials.
The video provides an overview of the study methods and procedures and introduces the results and considerations engineers should keep in mind when evaluating adhesive and foam combinations.
Go Deeper with the Enclosure Institute
Want to see the full bonding study results?
The Foam Bonding Quick Guide: PORON® Polyurethane & BISCO® Silicone Foams provides the detailed test documentation, results, and insights from the 3M and Rogers study. This Quick Guide is available exclusively through the Enclosure Institute™, so don't miss out!
Enroll in The Enclosure Institute™ to watch the elective course and access the Foam Bonding Quick Guide.
For engineers working on an enclosure gasket application, we can help evaluate material options and combinations, surface treatments, and converting requirements to develop a finished component design with the application’s needs in mind.
For more about the Peel Test performed in the 3M and Rogers Bonding Study, check out the full Rogers blog, Foam Bonding Failure Modes: How to Interpret Peel Test Results.
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Enroll in The Enclosure Institute™ today!
Working on an enclosure application and not sure where to start or currently knee-deep in an active project and not sure what's next? Contact us and we'll put you in touch with a Sales Engineer in your area. Our technical teams can walk you through all the important considerations to make sure your application is ready to go to market without issues.
