From natural rubber discovered in the hevea brasiliensis plants of the Amazon Valley to thermoplastic elastomers designed in modern research laboratories, elastomers have found an important niche in the materials arsenal of today's medical device designer. The growing number of design applications for elastomeric substrates has greatly increased the need for information on assembly techniques using these materials.
Adhesives offer several benefits over mechanical fasteners for joining elastomeric materials.
Unlike solvent bonds or ultrasonic welds, adhesives perform well with thermoset rubbers. In addition, adhesives distribute stress over a joint's entire bond area rather than in a single location, as do mechanical fasteners. Finally, a wide variety of adhesives have been developed that are compatible with high-speed automated manufacturing processes. Unfortunately, the wide selection of elastomers and adhesives can make it difficult to identify the optimal combination for a given design. Elastomer-based devices, like these tracheal tubes, are assembled using various combinations of adhesives.