Do you have the need to rapidly and efficiently seal a lot of cardboard cartons? If so, you have several options for sealing and hot melt adhesive is worth taking a look at. Let’s discover what this product is and how it can benefit many businesses today.
It’s Nothing New
Heating glue until it is very hot and then using it to bond porous materials together, is a time tested method. In fact, it was first developed about a century ago. The process utilized thermoplastic materials which became sticky when heated. It also had the properties of rapidly cooling off and forming a strong and durable hot melt adhesive.
Thermoplastic Polymers
The reason hot melt adhesive makes effective glue is due to materials known as thermoplastic polymers. Standard plastic melts when heated but thermoplastic is different. Thermoplastic polymers are elastic at certain temperatures and when heated can form a soft and pliable material. In addition, you can reheat this material more than once and still enjoy its unique properties.
Benefits
Hot melt adhesive comes with several important benefits. For example:
* Dries and cures fast – this is an important feature for many companies today. If you are turning out many cartons of materials per hour, you simply don’t have time to wait for the glue to bond and then cure. In many cases, by the time your cartons leave the sealing machine they can be loaded or carried by conveyor to your warehouse facility or loaded directly into trucks for shipping. This can greatly increase the efficiency of your logistics.
* Cost effective – you can purchase your hot melt glue economically and because there is little waste in the process, it is one of the most cost effective sealing methods you can use.
* Can be colored – if you need special colored glue, this is not a problem.
* Eco friendly – thermoplastic polymer glue does not have VOCs (volatile organic compounds).
* Does not become thin and watery during the heating process – your heated adhesive will keep its consistency and not run off the materials to be sealed. This not only helps to eliminate waste it creates a neat and clean process.
* Long shelf life – you can store your adhesive for three years or more. With a very long shelf life you will save money by purchasing your adhesive in large bulk volumes.
Nothing is Perfect
Hot melt adhesive is best used on porous materials. Also, things which are heat sensitive should not be glued with this method.
