8 DECEMBER 2023OPINIONSika is constantly reinventing bonding by introducing new, innovative, and sustainable solutions enabling new, faster, and more durable connections. A recent example of such a ground-breaking innovation is our new curing-by-design structural elastic adhesives. Skipping traditional joining techniques such as screwing or welding, components do not need to be drilled or heated during the bonding process. Also, different types of material can be bonded and sealed against liquid ingress. Here customers can significantly save production costs and process duration with a tailored adhesive step. In industrial production, such advantages are obvious but also in construction, where fast return to service or faster construction is required. The recently developed curing-by-design is a two-component polyurethane adhesive technology and provides a unique way of combining long working times and fast curing. "This means you can program when the adhesive has to harden," says Fabien Choffat, Head of Technology ­ Structural Adhesives. "This allows us to deliver highly efficient solutions for automated production or solution products for unmatched return to service times. For example, one of Europe's leading manufacturers of recreational vehicles has revolutionized its caravan production process using the latest Sika adhesive technology. This technology permits faster bonding of new self-supporting glass-fiber frames, a core feature for their new range of ultra-lightweight construction. In the construction and REINVENTING STRUCTRUAL BONDINGBy Dr. Fabien Choffat, Head of Technology - Structural Adhesives, SikaFigure: Comparison of curing behavior between new Sika's new curing-by-design technology and a standard structural adhesive with the same working time. At a similar working time, the new technology depicts a "quasi" immediate cure resulting in much faster handling time.
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