Sound technical content, curated with aloha by
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Pine Beach, NJ
The authoritative public forum
for Metal Finishing since 1989
-----
Bonding aluminum to polypropylene foam
Q. We are constructing an enclosure that will be operated in exterior environments at tropical latitudes.
We seek to bond anodized aluminum sheet (sealed but without dye) to expanded polypropylene foam.
Can you suggest a structural adhesive that will tolerate -20 to +70 °C operation.
Engineer - Yorktown Heights, New York, USA
January 6, 2011
by J. D. Minford
on eBay or
AbeBooks
or Amazon
(affil links)
A. 2 part epoxy adhesive epoxy_adhesive+.html
⇦this on
eBay
or
Amazon [affil links] s are commonly used with polypropylene however there are dozens of manufacturers with hundreds of options. You will find it hard to find a structural adhesive that won't cover that temperature range.
What you will find is there are many that don't meet your requirements for a number of other reasons.
Size and options on processing method will be an important factor. What size is your enclosure?
What facilities do you have to apply pressure during cure? What is your likely output how many a day/week do you need to make?
How strong/mechanically tough do you need it. There is normally a trade off in rigidity and toughness. Is this going to be heavily loaded? Will there be likely impact damage?
My advice would be to pick 1 or 2 of the manufacturers and go to them to get in depth advice.
Aerospace - South Wales, United Kingdom
January 11, 2011
Q, A, or Comment on THIS thread -or- Start a NEW Thread