Heavy truck and trailer bonding adhesive systems
Road transport benefits from heavy truck and trailer bonding adhesives
The use of adhesives in road transport vehicles, such as combination vehicles, trucks and trailers, is ever increasing. This is due to the numerous advantages these solutions offer compared to their traditional, mechanical alternatives. Next to the obvious, the heavy truck and trailer bonding adhesive systems are suitable for example for use in vehicles for healthcare and leisure. These include ambulances, caravans and campers and tractors.
Here you will find information on heavy truck structural adhesive systems, metal adhesive for trailers and truck adhesive sealants. Additionally, we will list their advantages and some products used for the most challenging applications.
Benefits beyond bond with truck and trailer bonding adhesives
In vehicle assembly innovative materials are used to make the vehicles more durable and the production process more efficient. Therefore, many production facilities choose for (structural) adhesives instead of more traditional options. The benefits brought along by road transport adhesives include:
- Design freedom: adhesives do not hinder the design choices, they are applicable so that they do not remain visible.
- Even stress distribution: heavy truck adhesive systems are applied by spraying, spreading the product or using dots and beads. All these methods allow for a greater surface to bear the stress than when traditional fasteners are used.
- Material friendly: compared to fasteners like screws, these systems do not damage the materials since they need no holes.
- Weight saving: adhesives are much lighter in weight than for instance welded bonds. This is of high importance, since the road transport industry is shifting towards lighter materials in for example truck and trailer assembly. For example heavy trailer sandwich panel bonding can greatly benefit from the right type of adhesive.
- Visual attraction: adhesives can contribute to the visual attributes of trucks, trailers and other vehicles. They are either available in different colors or are paintable.
- Fast and easy application: the application of these systems can be fully integrated into the production process. It also allows for automation where suitable.
- Noise and vibration attenuation: important for the truck and trailer assembly, adhesives can absorb shocks and damp noise.
- Fewer corrosion problems: as there is no metal to metal connection, there is no risk for galvanic action, and so corrosion risk is minimal.
Heavy truck and trailer structural adhesive applications
Adhesives for truck and trailer assembly guarantee strength, durability and elasticity in a wide variety of applications ranging from ambulances and fire engines to bulldozers, buses and touring cars. Additionally, some applications for demanding environments or purposes may require other properties such as chemical resistance and high temperature resistance.
The systems for road transport include, sealants, adhesives, adhesive sealants and coatings. These are common for example in the following applications:
- Bonding and sealing: the sealant, adhesives and truck adhesive sealants are common in creating bonds and seals for windows. The seals and bonds are suitable for windows that consist of mineral glass, polycarbonate or other plastics.
- Truck structural bonding: many adhesives are suitable for structural bonding of panels, roofing, bodywork and floor elements. The truck and trailer panel adhesive bonding systems include MMA adhesive, which has a unique cure profile.
- Sealing: sealants play a crucial part in sealing welds, bodywork, chassis parts, panels and interior parts as well as roofing and flooring. Especially MS polymers have an impressive track record in sealing dissimilar materials in trucks, trailers and other road transport vehicles.
- Coating: floor elements of road transport vehicles benefit from an appropriate floor coating. This can be used in combination with a suitable primer to guarantee most durable results.
Road transport adhesives for a wide range of materials
These systems are generally versatile in use, for they provide sufficient adhesion to materials such as glass fiber reinforced polyester, powder coatings, polycarbonates, PMMA, composite materials as well as glass and metal.
The adhesives for truck and trailer assembly also work for materials which are usually difficult to seal or bond. For instance polypropylene, which has low surface tension and is therefore tricky to glue or seal. However, the use of polypropylene in the vehicle industry is increasing due to its properties such as light weight. Therefore, special products are required.
In case you have an application involving bonding polypropylene or other challenging material, contact us for consultation and suitable products.
Certification of heavy truck and trailer bonding adhesive systems
As road transport includes several types of vehicles suitable for specific environments and purposes, the product certification and standardization hold a paramount position when selecting adhesives. Below you can find some relevant certificates for adhesives for road transport.
- WheelMark indicates durability in harsh environments. Some adhesive and sealant products for road transport can be certified according to the Maritime Equipment Directive set by the EU. This is due to the fact that similar products are durable enough for use also in ship building and repair.
- ISEGA assures that heavy truck and trailer bonding adhesives are safe to use in the preparation, processing, treatment, packing, transport and distribution of food. These products must have the lowest risk of contamination, and other hazards. Therefore, the ISEGA certification, together with HACCP, is crucial especially for sealing and bonding products for vehicles that transport food.
- DNV GL provides functional safety for road transport. DNV GL is a certification body that assesses, among others, products for road transport according to several European and international standards. For road transport these include reliability, availability, maintainability and safety, software and system safety. DNV GL certified sealants and adhesives are up to standards.
- FMVSS 212 stands for Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard. Windshield mounting assesses the strength and durability of windshield (and window) mounting in crash situations. As the windshields and windows in road transport vehicles are often glued and sealed using sealants and adhesives, their behavior in such situations is tested.
Note that similar certificates are also relevant for railway vehicles due to their similar tasks and operating environments.
Expert consultancy for road transport bonding
Looking for a suitable adhesive for your road transport vehicles, trucks and trailers? You have come to the right place: contact us for information on systems or training, consultancy on the right product or requesting a quote for a specific adhesive system. Our specialists are happy to share their experience and expertise in order to guarantee success for your project.
