From the average consumer to the seasoned mechanical engineer looking for the best adhesive tape for their project, they first retrieve information from their background with tapes. often for new projects, individuals start researching the types of tapes available, reviewing marketing materials from tape labels, then, maybe, going on-line to get opinion of others on Youtube and Google. The professional will also secure the opinion of an expert in the field, most commonly a vendor of adhesive tapes. But be careful, as experts sometimes get it wrong.
We recently received an email blast from a very reputable supplier and manufacture of foam with an adhesive backing, “Streamlining Your PSA Selection” read the heading. So it’s understood that they were not providing and in-depth review of pressure sensitive adhesive, but just proving a shortcut to selecting a PSA.
Below we will “correct” that email blast information and provide more context.
Adhesive Type:
Rubber: Ideal for short-term, general-purpose applications where cost is a primary concern. Offers high initial tack but may not be suitable for applications requiring chemical, temperature, or UV resistance.
Acrylic: Suitable for long-term applications where higher performance is required, including resistance to chemicals, temperatures, and UV light.
Butyl: Excels in low-temperature flexibility and boasts exceptional UV and moisture resistance. Suitable for long-term outdoor applications.
Construction:
Double-Coated Tape: Features a carrier coated on both sides with adhesive, providing stability, handling ease, and added thickness. Some specialized tapes have different adhesives on each side (differential double-coated tapes).
Transfer Tape: Consists of a single layer of adhesive without a carrier, often reinforced with scrim. Well-suited for irregular surfaces and applications requiring flexibility and stretching.
Service Grade:
Value: Economical options for cost-driven applications.
Mid-Grade: Offers a good balance of bond strength and cost, typically featuring heavier adhesive coat weights or thicker release liners.
Performance: Provides aggressive bonding on a wide variety of surfaces, ideal for more challenging applications
Rubber: it has been successfully used for long-term applications, primarily indoors. Acrylic is a better choice for general purpose applications (it has fewer limitations than rubber). Most modern rubber psa tapes are no longer pure rubber but modified rubber. Rubber not usually the cheapest. Acrylics are now most common and often the cheapest.
Acrylics are indeed more suitable for long-term applications for the reasons listed. There are rubber adhesives that offer greater performance than acrylics, depending on the application.
Butyl is thick and gooey. Type of adhesive used on roofs (solar panels)
This paragraph is all accurate. Common carriers are polyester film, tissue, and foam (cross linked polyethylene)
Since transfer tapes are most common 2mils thick and under, and don’t have the support of a carrier, they are not the best suited tape for irregular surfaces. A foam tape is better suited, generally, than a transfer tape
We would say the best value is choosing the best tape for the application. Having a tape failure that makes up a small percentage of the overall project value, and focusing just on the tape cost itself not best way to go.
Performance is not measured by the cost of the tape, but what tape is the best for the application. For example, Very High Bond (VHB) is considered one of the highest performance double-sided tapes and more expensive on average, however, using a VHB to build a corrugated fiber display is silly since a much less costly 1/32″ pe foam tape will do a much better job for cheaper.