National Adhesives’ Aerobond system is said to help carton and box manufacturers maximize productivity and reduce costs. It incorporates a laminating adhesive with a patented foaming device – the Glue-Mix unit – which introduces air bubbles into the adhesive mix, claimed to reduce substantially the volume of adhesive used in lamination and in litho-lamination in particular.
The Glue-Mix operates using 690 stainless steel pins which mechanically divide compressed air, creating tiny air bubbles, which are subsequently added to the adhesive. The system is fully automatic and can foam up to 500 l of adhesive per hour, producing up to 1,200 l of adhesive foam.
Many adhesive applicators operate with counter-rotating roller systems transferring glue directly onto the substrate – open corrugated, covered corrugated or full board. In litho-lamination printed sheets are then laminated onto the substrate. With Aerobond, the average reduction in adhesive consumption is between 10-20 per cent. This is the result of the adhesive’s density and mass being reduced by the air. In addition the amount of moisture in the laminate can also be reduced. Bond security is increased, conditioning times and laminator cleaning downtime are minimized and the glue’s adhesion properties are improved, it is claimed.
Using Aerobond, the physical volume of adhesive applied may be increased, even though adhesive consumption is reduced. The resulting reduction in moisture from the glue line is said to result in flatter laminates and reduced conditioning times prior to further production stages.
In addition, the aerated adhesive can better accommodate unevenness in the substrate surface, optimize initial tack and reduce instances of defective bonding. National says its specially formulated Aerobond adhesives exhibit very clean machining even at the highest production speeds.
Aerobond is currently being used globally in sheet-to-sheet and in-line laminators and in the wood industry.
| Contacts |
| National Adhesives |
