To maintain the best adhesive properties during transportation and dosing,

In the automotive industry, components are increasingly being bonded instead of welded, meaning that welding robots are being replaced ever more often. New, state-of-the-art adhesives such as single- and multi-component adhesives, epoxy resins, polyurethanes, and structural as well as construction adhesives make vehicles lighter and safer. Whether it is a front windshield, interior lining, plastic parts on control panels, connections in the engine compartment or on bumpers – bonding has proven to be the ideal method of connection in all of these areas.

Poor, inaccurate or fluctuating temperature control of the adhesive during transportation from the storage tank to the final application nozzle has a significant impact on the performance of the adhesive. For this reason, an electrical heat tracing system is used to keep the adhesive at a constant temperature.

The use of adhesives in the production of car components has become state of the art because high process speeds can be maintained. For many years, eltherm has been working together with leading plant manufacturers and automotive manufacturers. This cooperation is the basis for reliable answers to the high demands placed on quality and productivity when it comes to manufacturing processes in the automotive industry.

But why is electrical heat tracing needed? Electrical heat tracing is always used when media can only be processed at a certain temperature, which is when they unfold their ideal processing properties. Clogging of hoses and application nozzles is avoided, as are deposits on the tank floor, because the temperature is kept constant, and the adhesives maintain their consistency.

A tailor-made turnkey solution made by eltherm might include the following components:

• dum heaters
• heated containers for the adhesive
• customized heating mats for pumps, valves and dosing units
• highly flexible heated hoses at the robot
• heated hoses for manual application
• flexible hoses for fixed installation
• additional lines for application guns, for example

In this way, flexible heating hoses are always used as means of transport when media must be conveyed without heat loss. They ensure that adhesives do not clump or deposit on their way to the application site. Since even small amounts of silicone outgassing can severely disrupt the bonding process, eltherm manufactures silicone-free and PWIS-free heating hoses, heating mats and special heaters. A special distance holder prevents the heating cable from slipping in the event of high and dynamic bending stresses, thus avoiding temperature inaccuracies or even the risk of localised overheating. For extreme conditions, there is the option of equipping the heating hose with a special robot structure that is capable of withstanding high, dynamic bending stress more effectively. An insulation and outer jacket adapted to the respective process make the heating hose a ready-to-connect system.