Premixed and frozen adhesives, sealants, and potting compounds have been in use in the manufacturing industry for over 40 years, primarily in the aerospace and medical device industries. Why has it excelled in those industries? The precision and consistency required when producing parts in the aerospace and medical industries is of the utmost importance. Reducing operator error, waste while also increasing efficiency is the best way for manufacturers in those fields to properly get the quality and quantity of output required. Premixed and frozen adhesives allow for just that. Many different types of adhesive chemistries are available using this option including epoxies, urethanes, silicones, hybrid light curable, and polysulfides.
What are premixed and frozen adhesives?
Most thermoset adhesives are 2-part (sometimes single part) systems that require accurate weighing and mixing to a proper ratio. This requires equipment to properly weigh and mix as well as vacuum the mixture to eliminate air. If large amounts are being used at once this may seem like an easy enough option. However, if each part requires only grams or less of adhesive, weighing and mixing properly becomes much more difficult. Manytimes users will need to mix more than is needed to assure proper mix ratio but waste the excess. Premixed and frozen is a process in which Epoxyset, weighs, mixes, vacuums, and packages the product appropriately ensuring each drop performs as it should. Ranging from as little as 0.5ml up to 32oz, the syringes or cartridges are flash frozen to stop the reaction and stored at -80°C until it ships to the end user in dry ice. It eliminates the need for operator processing, equipment, and quality checks as Epoxyset does it all. Our informational video on premixed and frozen explains the process.
What is required of the customer to use premixed and frozen systems?
As mentioned earlier, these materials need to kept frozen below -40°C. Commercial freezers are available for such storage ranging from small bench top units to larger chest freezers. Ultimately this is the only equipment needed to use premixed and frozen systems. We urge customers to be fully trained in the handling and discarding of dry ice in accordance with local, state and federal regulations. Additional process equipment may be required based on the application such as pneumatic dispensers, but it is not necessary and only need based.
How are materials tested?
Each product has been thoroughly evaluated and optimized to find the ideal batch size and quantity to yield the best performance possible. Each lot produced is tested according to specification. Standard tests include work life, color and hardness and additional testing available include viscosity, lap shear strength, specific gravity and sag resistance.
What are lead times?
Standard lead times for most premixed and frozen adhesive systems are 2-3 weeks depending on the product and quantity. All products must be shipped in dry ice using expedited service. Typically, all shipments within the USA would ship Fedex Priority Overnight. Shipments outside the USA must ship Fedex International Priority or via freight forwarder’s expedited services.
