Film lamination is a method to bond two substrates together, the different adhesive systems must be liquid or in fluid form when applied on the foil or film. The film forming and hardening mechanism that takes place when the adhesive dries i s mainly a physical process. The adhesive bonding has no adverse effect on the material characteristics of the surfaces to be bonded.
Types of laminating adhesives:
- water based adhesives: these are adhesives that use water as a carrier or diluting medium, and set by allowing the water to evaporate or be absorbed by the substrate.
- Two component adhesives: these are adhesives that are made by mixing two components that react chemically to form a chemically crosslinked adhesive. In general they are higher cost than other types of adhesives but also provide very high strength bonds and outstanding performance characteristics.
- Film bonding adhesives: these are adhesives that made in the form of compound substrate films. Film adhesives can be made from water base, solvent base, solvent free adhesives. The heat reactivated versions find use in film bonding or fabric bonding and other industrial applications where heat can be applied to the substrates to melt the adhesive.
