Manufacturers specifying an acrylic to bond their products have traditionally faced a
difficult trade-off when choosing an acrylic adhesive. High-performance adhesives with
the heat resistance, durability, and shear strength needed for demanding applications
relied heavily on solvent-based acrylics.
Solvent-based adhesives offer superior performance, but produce both VOC (volatile
organic compounds) emissions and odor.
More sustainable but lower performing UV hot melt (UVHM) adhesives fall short of
meeting solvent-based performance levels. Additionally, while UVHM adhesives have no
solvents in their final condition, solvents are employed in their manufacture, a process
that operates at solvent-level cure temperatures and energy levels. UVHM typically has
a higher total-applied cost.
Choosing between solvent-based versus UVHM presented manufacturers with a
performance versus sustainability trade-off.
Avery Dennison has addressed this challenge with
our 100% solvent-free UVWM acrylic adhesives,
developed from the molecular level to satisfy needs
for solvent-based performance and solvent-free
processing, while providing sustainability
advantages.
