Adhesives can replace welding on galvanized metal.

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Adhesives can Replace Welding on Galvanized Metal

DANVERS, MA - Two new adhesives from Devcon are ideal for bonding galvanized, galvanneal, or Galvalume® metals. Flex Welder FC (Fast Cure) methacrylate adhesive and Dev-Thane 5 urethane adhesive can replace welding, saving time and labor and minimizing unsightly distortion of thin panels in the assembly of truck trailers, truck and bus bodies, metal signs, conservatories, greenhouses, and architectural elements. Flex Welder FC is designed for the quick and permanent assembly of products subject to flexing, shock, vibration, or variations in temperature up to 250°F. On metals, nylon, composites, and plastics it produces load-bearing bonds with excellent impact, peel, and shear resistance and 100% tensile elongation. Flex Welder FC requires minimal surface preparation. Mixed as dispensed (in a 1:1 ratio) with manual or pneumatic dispensing guns, it is a 100% solids gel that spreads easily and fills gaps up to 3/8" but will not run, drip, or sag on vertical or inverted surfaces. It has a working time of 3 minutes at room temperature and a fixture time of 9 minutes; it attains functional cure in just 1 hour and full cure in 24 hours. Its low-exotherm, low-shrinkage formulation minimizes "read through" when thin panels are bonded to structural supports. Dev-Thane 5 also forms tough yet exceptionally flexible bonds on many substrates, including metals, rubber, concrete, wood, foam, EPS, and ABS. Primerless, this two-part adhesive becomes a thixotropic paste with a pot life of 5 minutes. Its 100% solids formulation produces no VOC emissions. Fixture time is 15 minutes, and functional cure is attained in 3 hours at room temperature. When cured, Dev-Thane 5 has a tensile strength of 2100 psi and a tear resistance of 400 pli (ASTM D624) and withstands service temperatures up to 180° F dry, 120° F wet. Maximum elongation is 200% (ASTM D412). Hardness is 63 Shore D (ASTM D2240). In addition to preventing aesthetically unacceptable dimpling or scorching on welded thin metal panels, Flex Welder FC and Dev-Thane 5 distribute stresses over large bond areas and eliminate the need to drill or punch fastener holes, reducing assembly times. A manufacturer of horse trailers recently used Flex Welder FC to bond fiberglass-coated galvannealed panels to a welded outer frame of hollow galvanized tubes. At the front of the trailer where these flexible panels formed a curve, more Flex Welder FC was used to fill gaps between the panels and the frame. The manufacturer used Dev-Thane 5 to bond pre-fabricated galvanized door frames to galvanized trailer frames, saving hours of welding. The manufacturer also used Dev-Thane 5 to secure pre-fabricated fiberglass windows to the trailers' galvannealed side panels. For more information, contact: David Bongiorni, Market Development Manager, Devcon, 30 Endicott Street, Danvers, MA 01923, Toll-Free: 1-800-933-8266, TEL: (978) 777-1100, FAX: (978) 774-0516, oeminfo@devcon.com, http://www.devcon.com/82.