Dyne Level Effect on Adhesion

Q: We offer a permanent surface treatment that increases the dyne level of plastics. We have heard that each adhesive system works best with a certain dyne level, and you can actually have too high a dyne in some cases. Can you clarify?

A: The measure of surface energy is referred to as the dyne level, which is an important consideration in plastic fabrication. The more surface energy or higher the dyne level a surface has, the better an adhesive will adhere to it. Typically, the dyne level of the substrate must be higher than the adhesive for better wettability. Dymax adhesive chemistries (polyurethane modified acrylates) are about 30-47 dynes. We haven’t come across any issues where the dyne level of the substrate was too high.

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