Hot melt adhesives
Hot melt adhesives are a type of adhesive commonly used in various industries. They are made from multiple materials, including synthetic resins, waxes, and oils. Hot melt adhesives have many benefits over other adhesives, including their quick set time, muscular bond strength, and flexibility.
Introduction to Hot Melt Applicators
Depending on the use case and industry, various hot-melt adhesive dispensing equipment is available. However, the sheer number of options can be confusing when looking for the ideal applicator to suit your project’s requirements.
Choosing your hot melt adhesive applicator: based on glue application surface area
A range of manual hand-held or tabletop-to-automatic systems are available to meet adhesive application needs. The appropriate application system will have to be installed depending on the requirement.
For precise bead application: extrusion applicators
Applying hot melt in industries such as packaging requires the dispensing to be in bead form. The adhesive could be a continuous thin line, dashed/broken lines with non-glued sections in between, or a line of equally spaced dots, usually known as stitching.
When a small amount of glue needs to be applied accurately, extrusion hot melt adhesive applicators are fantastic. These applicators are frequently employed in product assemblies for woodworking, packaging, case sealing, and other applications. Such applicators include hand-held glue guns with glue sticks or mini-glue tanks for very low-volume manual application. Large-scale solutions include a melter tank and automatic guns connected to the main tank via heated hoses.
To cover large areas: spray applicators
The advantage of spray hot glue guns is that they have a wider application surface than their competitors. They need to work better for smaller objects, but they fit the need for hot melt applications in large-scale projects like foam packaging and furniture assembly.
For thin and flat substrates: roll coater applicators
Hot melt is applied across a large surface by roll coater applicators. Pressure-sensitive adhesives on thin substrates, such as self-adhesive labels, stamps, and stickers, are frequently employed in this procedure.
Slot coating applicators
For a uniform surface coating, slot applicators can apply the hot melt. Coating width can be varied across a wide area using multiple slot applicators, and they can all be programmed to dispense hot melt in intricate patterns. Slot applicators are perfect for manufacturing and assembly lines and may be configured to coat numerous surfaces simultaneously. This makes them ideal for everything from sanitary wear and furniture to automobiles.
Choosing your hot melt adhesive applicator: based on industry
1 – Pharma and Food Packaging Industry
Pharmaceutical medicines and processed foods are mainly packed in cartons and use hot-melt adhesives for carton sealing. For such applications, extrusion-based applicators are frequently employed. They provide a quick and effective way to meet the high packaging demand and speed.
Slot coating applicators can be employed for smaller packaging, such as the manufacturing of envelopes. And slot coating or roll coater applicators are used for self-adhesive stickers and labels used on packaging.
2 – Automobile and Transportation Industry
Many parts in vehicles use hot-melt adhesives for the assembly process. Depending on the product to be assembled, different types of applicators, from extrusion to spray, can be used. In addition, many such applicators are often mounted onto robots for faster, more accurate, and more efficient application of hot melt.
