Need advice for adhesives - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Logan
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 26, 2020, 04:30:13 pm
content: Hello guys.I need a glue that can bond with glass/crystal and plastic/rubber strongly, but won’t damage the material, and won’t contaminate the lens when volatilize.Are there any recommendations?Thanks!

author: Benta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 26, 2020, 06:32:35 pm
content: Contact adhesives.

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 26, 2020, 09:32:51 pm
content: UV cure epoxies are about the only ones you will find that will do the glass properly, and will work in a lens.

author: Benta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 26, 2020, 09:39:17 pm
content: Quote from: SeanB on December 26, 2020, 09:32:51 pmWith rubber? Interesting. Do you have some specific hints?

author: jpanhalt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 26, 2020, 10:31:24 pm
content: Cyanoacrylic adhesives (CA, "superglue") were developed by Eastman Kodak to attach glass lenses to metals and plastics. Do not use on plastic lenses or use one of the non-fogging versions. They adhere quite strongly to rubber. There are rubberized versions that probably contain neoprene, if you need a flexible joint.There used to be an ad on TV of a worker being lifted by a 1" square piece of rubber attached to his hard hat.

author: richnormand
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 26, 2020, 10:50:22 pm
content: In my experience do not use superglue stuff on or near optics, particularly in an enclosed instrument.The vapours can ruin the lens AR coating or give a hazy lens surface. This is doubly true if you have any plastic optical elements in the grouping.The Kodak glue probably had different properties tailored to their specific application compared to the consumer types.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 27, 2020, 01:19:58 am
content: Quote from: Benta on December 26, 2020, 09:39:17 pmI'd suggest contacting an industrial adhesive manufacturer's technical support. (Henkel, 3M, etc)There are specialty adhesives and primers to bond pretty much any combination of materials. (The magic word in German is "Haftvermittler". For example, there is primer to make supergluestick to Teflon and silicone!)There are plenty of silicone adhesives that stick well to glass, and won't off-gas anything to haze the glass. I'd be surprised if there isn't some type that also sticks to the type of plastic or rubber you need to bond. You'll just need to know exactly what material it is, since different plastics have radically different adhesion properties, and so do rubbers (latex? synthetic rubber? thermoplastic elastomer? etc etc etc).

author: pickle9000
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 27, 2020, 02:46:08 am
content: uv cure silicone

author: Doctorandus_P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 27, 2020, 06:42:23 am
content: Different sorts of plastics need different kinds of glue. Some (PE) are not glueable at all, while others (PVC) need specialized glue.

author: jfiresto
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 27, 2020, 08:18:29 am
content: I would also talk with the adhesive makers and get their advice.I was going to suggest a Modified Silane (MS) polymer adhesive which is low in VOC, but that can be hard to find in the U.S. – or perhaps to identify. The last time I looked for someone, I could find a handful of "advanced" consumer/home improvement adhesives with its characteristics, but their makers/resellers would not say what was in them. It was annoying. Just tell me the chemistry and I will sort things out.Anyway, if you are not in a rush, I can lay a bead of MS Polymer on a glass slide, wait a couple days, put it under a microscope and check for fogging.

author: Logan
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 27, 2020, 09:59:15 am
content: Thank you everyone!

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 28, 2020, 12:05:33 pm
content: Quote from: Doctorandus_P on December 27, 2020, 06:42:23 amPE is glueable with the right adhesives and primers.