Flexible Solutions

What are Double Coated Foam Tapes?

Posted by Katie Sullivan

Oct 27, 2021 8:53:20 AM

Double Coated Foam Tapes

Double coated foam tapes are a type of adhesive tape that is made of tacky adhesive coated on both sides of a foam core or carrier. DC foam tapes fill gaps and distribute stress uniformly over the bonded area. Depending on the specific tape, the result is a bond line that seals, cushions, and damps vibration, resists impact, withstands a wide temperature range, and provides good insulating qualities. Double-coated foam tapes are strong and durable.

Read More

Topics: Pressure Sensitive Adhesive, Acrylic Foam Tape, Material selection, Die-Cutting, 3m tape, PSA

Wearable Device Design - Selecting a Stick-to-Skin Adhesive

Posted by Katie Sullivan

Dec 15, 2020 8:30:00 AM

When designing a wearable device that will be attached to the human body, selecting the most appropriate stick-to-skin adhesive is a very important part of the design process, and Marian can help. If you take two things away from this article, they should be the following:

1. Think about material selection early in the wearable device design process.

2. Involve your material converter early in the wearable device design process.

Material converters, like Marian, can be an invaluable resource as you begin to make decisions about your design, including choosing the stick-to-skin adhesive materials.

Read More

Topics: Pressure Sensitive Adhesive, Medical PSA, Skin-Contact PSA, Material selection, 3M, 3m tape

4 Insulating Materials for use in EV Batteries

Posted by Katie Sullivan

Aug 27, 2019 9:00:00 AM

Improvements are being made to the lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles. Car makers are developing more powerful lithium-ion batteries that have increased range and charge more rapidly. Along with these improvements, enhancing safety is becoming increasingly urgent for electric vehicle development.  As mentioned in our previous blog post, 11 Considerations when Selecting Thermal Interface Materials for Electric Vehicle Li-Ion Batteries, Li-ion batteries produce a significant amount of heat while in use and while charging. Along with the use of thermal management materials, placing protective engineered flame retardant insulating materials between the components of the battery cell, module, and pack can offer additional thermal and electrical insulating protection. However, adding such materials can be challenging due to space and weight constraints.

In this post, we outline four materials that can enhance the safety of lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles.  Some shared characteristics of these four materials are listed below. 

  • ultra-thin
  • lightweight
  • electrically and thermally insulating
  • flame retardant
  • can be die-cut and laminated with PSA

Read further for additional detail about each material.

Read More

Topics: Thermal Management, EV, HEV, Material selection, Insulators

3 Common Misconceptions About Durometer

Posted by Andrew Bonar

Jul 9, 2019 9:32:31 AM

 
The Shore durometer (pictured right) is a scale for measuring the hardness of a material, such as rubber, plastic, thermal  plastics (TPE), and rigid plastics. The term "durometer" is often used to describe a material's rating on the scale, for example “this material has a durometer of 60.”
  
It's worth noting, there are a variety of durometer scales since elastomeric and plastic resins vary over a wider range than one scale can accommodate. Download our comparison chart to see how these scales overlap.
 
Durometer hardness is one of many physical properties considered when selecting a material for a specific application. Beware of some common misconceptions. Durometer hardness is often inaccurately confused with the properties described below. 

Read More

Topics: Foams, Compression Force Deflection, PORON, PORON Foam, Elastomers, Material selection

PORON® EVExtend For Use In EV/HEV Li-ion Pouch Cell Batteries

Posted by Katie Sullivan

May 29, 2019 1:01:15 PM

PORON® EVExtend

Our valued material supplier, Rogers Corporation, has released PORON® EVExtend polyurethane foam material. This is an ideal battery pad material for EV/HEV li-ion pouch cell batteries. The EXExtend 4701-43HBF offers an increased flammability rating of HBF, or HF1 (product dependant). 

Read More

Topics: Foams, PORON Foam, EV, HEV, Material selection

11 Considerations when Selecting Thermal Interface Materials for Electric Vehicle Li-ion Battery

Posted by Katie Sullivan

Mar 22, 2019 8:06:17 AM

Currently, lithium-ion (li-ion) batteries are the most common type of battery used to power electric vehicles. Today's market is demanding that batteries charge faster and last longer. Because li-ion batteries produce significant heat when in use and charging, thermal management is critical.  Excessive heat can cause irreparable damage to the battery. 

Read More

Topics: Thermal Management, EV, HEV, battery, Material selection