Where do you find a quick but heavy-duty bonding solution?
In any business, items can break, become damaged, or need attachments to function correctly. If fastening and repairing things is a constant requirement in your company, you'll want a quick solution that lets you move on to the next task efficiently.
For over three decades, Strouse has utilized the strength and durability of 3M VHB, helping customers select the right type based on their specific needs.
Today, we’ll discuss everything you need to know about 3M VHB tape, including what it is, what it can do, and whether it’s ideal for your business needs.
What is 3M VHB Tape Used For?
3M VHB industrial tapes are engineered to tackle heavy-duty industrial applications. Rather than a temporary fix until you find a better product, 3M VHB tape is the solution. These adhesive tapes are designed to permanently adhere to practically any surface, including metal, wood, glass, and many surface-energy plastics and paints.
3M VHB tape is created using naturally viscoelastic acrylic foam, meaning it’s flexible yet able to retain high strength while stretching to fit around an object. The foam has energy-absorbing and stress-relaxing properties, allowing it to sit perfectly on any surface and move with the attached item.
The VHB tape is a subcategory or "family" of adhesive tapes, and because each product is unique, you’ll want to buy the specific 3M VHB tape that works for your conditions. For instance, the '49' tape family is great for a broad range of surfaces, including glass and plastics, the '59' tape family works on most powder-coated plastics, and the RP+ tape family is geared towards metals and mismatched surfaces.
3M VHB double-sided tape is the go-to choice for many industrial applications and continues to help businesses create practical solutions to industrial problems.
What Are The Benefits of Using 3M VHB Tape?
3M VHB tape is tough, temperature-resistant, conformable, discreet, and used to attach dissimilar materials. It offers many benefits as an alternative to mechanical fasteners and expands in usage as it continues to make its name in the industry.
1. IT'S ONE OF THE TOUGHEST MATERIALS OUT THERE
3M VHB tape offers one of the strongest bonds out of any adhesive. In fact, VHB tape has been certified in the industry to have a powerful bond (it's in the name: VHB = “Very High Bond”).
VHB's adhesive properties give it an incredibly durable hold on any surface. Combined with its elastic properties, it can absorb the shock of any load, making it perfect for static and dynamic operations.
Furthermore, the tape's potent adhesive mix makes it robust and long-lasting. 3M VHB tape can stay in place for many years and will continue doing its job just as well as when you applied it.
2. IT CAN WORK IN EXTREME TEMPERATURES
Every product is limited to the hot or cold conditions it functions in, and the same goes for tape. Most adhesives have a limited temperature range, with their cool spectrum capping off at 10 degrees Celsius or 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
3M VHB double-sided tape is much more durable than your everyday tape, withstanding freezing temperatures of 0 degrees Celsius or 32 degrees Fahrenheit.
3. VHB TAPE CAN MOLD TO ANY SHAPE
Your equipment may have a multitude of complex parts that are too challenging to fix with traditional adhesives. Not to mention, fasteners have a fixed shape that might not solve the problem.
The VHB adhesive’s contouring abilities allow it to stretch, squeeze, and otherwise shape itself around any surface with ease, and its foam-based material helps it flow into microscopic irregularities in the item and seal them all shut, guaranteeing a powerful and long-lasting bond.
4. IT ENABLES LOW-VISIBILITY CONNECTIONS
While you COULD hang your family photos using duct tape, there are several reasons why you’d probably use low-visibility adhesives.
Regular tape can be bulky, uneven, and highly dependent on the precision of your application. However, 3M designed certain 3M VHB tapes for subtle, thin bonding that is virtually invisible after application so that you can have smooth-looking results.
5. YOU CAN USE IT TO COMBINE DISSIMILAR MATERIALS
Dissimilar materials require double-sided differential tapes, a fancy way of calling adhesives that can hold together surfaces made from different materials. Traditional adhesives and fasteners may be limited in this regard.
In most cases, fasteners are designed only to fit a specific way within a particular material. While adhesives can be used on a decent range of surfaces, they are still limited to certain types of bonding depending on their material composition.
VHB tape can fasten together almost any surface you can throw at it and hold together surfaces made from entirely different materials. You can combine metal with wood, wood with plastic, or anything else your heart desires; the correct VHB tape will hold it together and offer guaranteed security.
How Does 3M VHB Tape Compare With Other Fasteners?
Depending on how long your business has run, you may have grown fond of traditional fasteners. However, sometimes, change is necessary to upgrade your business to new heights.
3M VHB tape is a consistent and reliable tool for many products, and to help demonstrate why people make the switch, we’ll compare the differences between VHB tape and fasteners.
A. IT’S CUSTOMIZABLE
While fasteners come in fixed, solid shapes, VHB tape offers a flexible, customizable solution.
Adhesive converters can slit VHB rolls into smaller quantities or cut them into custom shapes that better suit your project application. Not to mention, your converter may laminate multiple types of tape, adhesives, and liners to build custom material stack-ups that suit the surfaces to which you’re adhering.
B. THIN & SUBTLE ADHESIVE BOND
Mechanical fasteners often create uneven surfaces which can lead to geometric and aesthetic issues. Thin bonding VHB tape can act as a smooth, less visible, but equally powerful bonding material.
C. SERVES MULTIPLE PURPOSES
Unlike fasteners which only join surfaces together, VHB tape has sealing, gasketing, and vibration dampening abilities due to its foam composition.
D. LIGHTWEIGHT
Many industries require lightweight bonding solutions, and adhesive tape is far lighter than traditional metal fasteners. For instance, we’ve seen companies reduce the weight of their aircraft by using tape to bond seating components instead of screws. If you’re in need of a lightweight, yet sturdy solution, VHB tape could be a good choice for you.
Which 3M VHB Tape is Best For Me?
Now that you’ve learned the many benefits of 3M VHB tape, you still need to figure out which tape you need. Luckily, Strouse has bought its fair share of VHB.
You can find plain rolls of VHB online, but when you’re looking for custom lengths and shapes, you’ll want to seek out an expert to help check your design for manufacturability and get you started on your path toward production.
Strouse helps companies select the right 3M VHB tape for the job and provides it in the format most conducive to their process, whether in rolls, die cuts, sheets, or multi-stack lamination. Additionally, we offer 3M VHB double-sided tape, tape masking solutions, medical device adhesives, surface protection tape, industrial and fastener tape, and more.
An experienced converter will help make a VHB project successful. If you’re interested in improving the effectiveness and efficiency of your process, consider reaching out so Strouse can help you achieve the adhesive solution that best suits your project.
For more information about VHB tape, you can also check out our materials page.
Originally published: May 4, 2020
