The purpose of double side tape is to bond two parts or surfaces together, often instead of using the likes of liquid adhesives, mechanical fasteners or in some cases even spot welding. Double side tape is extremely effective yet a simple product that has just two three components – a release liner, a carrier and adhesive.
Both sides of the tape come coated with a PSA (pressure sensitive adhesive), which provides a number of advantages including being extremely easy to apply without curing as they can just be peeled off, stuck on and then pressured to ensure they stay on.
PSAs provide a consistent bond-line thickness in addition to distribution loading and are also low-odour which means that they can be assembled without ventilation.
Double side tape may use the same or different adhesives on both sides while joining together different substrates. Those adhesives can vary from repositionable and low-tack to highly resistant bonds that are meant for long-term use.
The material holding the adhesive, which is known as the tape carrier, can be either thick foam or a thin film, while the liner is the backing that temporarily provides protection to the adhesive. The liner is peeled back and removed when the user is ready to apply the tape and can then be discarded.
Common applications of double side tape
There are a number of simple applications for double side tape including floor to carpet fixing, but where this product really shines is when installed in circumstances where there are contours. A good example of this would be a marine craft that has mismatched surfaces as everything on them curves, while glass and preformed plastic surfaces also benefit from the versatility and flexibility of this solution.
Other common uses include graphic overlays, decorative trim, nameplates, appliances and electronics and sound dampening applications.
Applications in construction
Double side tape is an essential asset in the trades as they can be applied when fixing one internal wall surface on top of another. Numerous substrates can be fixed by the acrylic base including concrete, glass and wood, assuring wall anchoring. Industrial strength coatings and thicker tapes can also be sourced when irregular surfaces are used by these walls, for example in textured facade panelling.
The fact that double side tape is invisible is also a great advantage as it means it can and is used in lighting fixtures, window frames and muntins and other places where it is vital to have anchoring transparency.
Mounting
Supplementary elements and decorative accents can also make use of double side tape. This path is often followed for soundproofing walls, vertically mounting objects and wall cladding panels. Many of today’s new smart home devices only need a couple of cut-outs of double side tape including wireless smoke alarm detectors and thermostats.
Family portraits in heavy metal and glass frames can also use this degree of medium grade loading.
Some double side tape can even be capable of working in applications once reserved solely for mechanical fasteners, being able to be invisibly inserted between two objects with irregular shapes, which cannot be done by a mechanical fastener without a spacer.
Double side tape has proven to be a valuable asset with many uses.
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