You might ask, “How can I choose the best automotive tape?”
With so many products on the market, putting an unknown tape on a vehicle could have many consequences, such as chipped paint or messy adhesive residue. Luckily, adhesive tape converters have the expertise to help you find the right material for your automotive solution.
Strouse has helped source countless automotive applications over the past 38+ years of converting, from surface protection to EV module bonding solutions.
If you’re searching for an automotive tape, stick around (I’m sorry) to learn how converters will help you find the best match possible.
Finding the best tape depends on your intended application. There are many different uses for automotive tape, including:
& more!
Adhesive converters source tape according to your solution's requirements, and offer custom-cut samples for testing to confirm that the material performs as expected when converted into its final design.
Converters ask for project details to recommend the best materials, but also, many suppliers limit access to their materials unless we provide certain information.
Note: Converters only share this information with the supplier and their internal team as they evaluate whether to give access to the material. A mutual NDA will still protect your intellectual property.
Here’s the information converters may need to gain access to automotive materials.
The manufacturer’s program number will allow the supplier to locate the product batch for verification and grant your converter access to adhesive materials.
A part description, even one as simple as “This is a component for the driver’s side mirror,” is necessary for your converter to understand the purpose of the adhesive.
While it may seem intimidating, explaining your product is crucial to finding the right adhesive. An extended part description would ideally explain your goals for the component and the application method.
The Start of Production (SoP) marks the beginning of production for a vehicle or vehicle part series. In contrast, the End of Production (EoP) occurs when the manufacturer has determined that no further units will ever be produced.
Suppliers use these dates to confirm whether your part is being actively produced, will be produced in the future, or has an end date. Many of these companies plan well over a year in advance, so this gives suppliers a better understanding of your timeline.
Your ideal adhesive will largely depend on which surfaces or substrates you’re bonding, and whether the bond is temporary or permanent. You can also provide samples of the substrates for your converter to run peel adhesion tests on and ensure that the chosen material suits your automotive application.
Knowing your planned usage helps your converter and supplier plan your project's equipment and operator availability.
Your converter can ensure that the intended manufacturing methods match your part quantity. Meanwhile, your supplier will plan the material to ensure you don’t encounter any shortages.
If you’re in the industry, you likely know that automotive companies operate on a tier system (1, 2, and 3) that denotes which manufacturers produce raw materials and which produce finished goods. Your tier is another piece of information a converter uses to validate your access to material suppliers.
If you are manufacturing a part for another customer, the supplier might want to know who that is before granting access to their materials. In addition, certain benefits come with introducing your converter to your end user, such as increasing the speed of your product development.
Now that you know what information a converter will ask for when sourcing your automotive adhesives, what else do you need to consider?
Certain materials in this industry are difficult to access, but we can potentially source alternative materials or build a custom tape in-house that meets the same specs.
Building the perfect process doesn’t happen overnight. Instead, it takes selecting the right tape alongside an experienced converter who can fully optimize your process and match your quality standards.
Ready to source materials for your automotive project? Contact a converter today to obtain the adhesives and testing samples you need. For more information on finding materials and custom design converting, you can also check out our Learning Center.