Pressure Sensitive Adhesives (PSA) are used in assembly processes of all types.  A wide variety of manufacturers of PSAs provide products to the market.  These PSA products are engineered and developed with specific characteristics to meet virtually any requirements.  An application may require a certain adhesive bond strength between two distinct substrates or may require a specific thickness.  The adhesive may include a protective, insulating, or conductive film laminated to the adhesive to be used for assembly.  There are adhesive transfer and double coated tapes.  There are tapes specifically configured for certain industries such as aerospace, automotive, medical, packaging, food, appliance, construction, and more.  These PSA components are delivered in the form of die-cut tape and can be as simple as labels or as complex as a multi-layer laminate of complex shape that provides functions of gasketing, shielding, and insulating all in a single component.

Nautilus Systems, Inc. (NSI) has a specialized portfolio of equipment solutions for accurately feeding and applying virtually any type of die-cut adhesive component.  The die-cut process is typically provided by a Converter.  A Converter works closely with the End-User, the PSA supplier, and NSI to configure the parts that they will provide to meet the application requirements both from a product perspective and from an assembly perspective.  NSI personnel are able to assist the Converter by providing specifications about the die-cut component layout that will assist in improving the ability to accurately dispense and place those components.

NSI Applicator systems including the PL100i, PL100r, PL165i, and PL165r are currently in use for the precise and reliable assembly of die-cut adhesive components in virtually every industry.  In Medical Device assembly our systems are being used to: apply conductive foils to surgical instruments; applying multiple layers of adhesive materials around electronic circuitry for diagnostics; apply barcode labels in precise positions on test tube units; and more.  In the Automotive industry our Applicators are in use in assembly of: Airbag components; Tire Pressure Monitoring System hardware; and more.  In Semiconductor and Electronic industries our systems are being used to apply Polyimide Tape Masks, Mask Labels using Thermal Adhesives, and more.  In Packaging applications are systems are used to apply Labels, Hang Tabs, and more.

As can be ascertained from the details above, pressure sensitive adhesive component assembly is a wide ranging and far reaching application environnment.  At NSI we have the expertise to assist you with selecting materials, prototyping, developing specifications for die-cut components, developing assembly processes, and implementing equipment using our standardized solutions to provide the most accurate, precise, and reliable assembly process avaialable.  At NSI one of the services we provide is DFMA (Design for Manufacturability and Assembly).  Drawing on a long history in this specialized field allows us to provide resources instantly for this evaluation purpose that many of our customers do not have or do not have the time to develop.

Please call NSI to discuss your application so that we can bring our core competencies to bear in assisting you on the road to success.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 27th, 2008 at 2:09 am and is filed under Technical Articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.