PEBA to PE Bonding

Q: "I need to bond PE to both metal and PEBA. If possible, a light-curable product is preferable. Would the surface treatment be the same for PEBA to PE? Do both materials need to be treated?" 

A: There are a few light-curable adhesives that come to mind that will bond to both metals and plastics and have good adhesion to both PEBA and PE. Treatment of the PE is a good idea, and methods include corona treatment of the PE, or plasma treatment with an oxygen-gas attachment. Regarding adhesion to PEBA, (as a block copolymer) this material can have different levels of a nylon characteristic. Usually, the higher the durometer, the more like nylon it will behave, which is a little more difficult to bond to. A lower durometer PEBA is typically easier to stick to. If you are bonding PEBA to PE, you would generally only need to treat the PE. If you are using a high durometer PEBA it would be a wise test to treat the PEBA and see if better bond results are found.

If you are looking for a recommendation from Dymax, I suggest evaluating 1161-M. Other competitive companies offer some very good adhesives for these substrates, and I am sure their technical support groups can help make a proper recommendation. There is a technology available which can actually let you see the blue colored adhesive as it is dispensed, and upon cure will become colorless. Dymax See-Cure technology, found in our medical device adhesive 1202-M-SC, can bond to metal, PEBA, and PE (with treatment), as well as provide a safety feature by allowing the operator to see where the adhesive is dispensed, and when it has reached full cure.

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