Characterisation of High Accuracy, Feedback Controlled, Adhesive Bonding

Adhesive bonding for industrial purposes has, over the last years, become more important compared to conventional joining methods, due to application in miniaturized systems where other ways of joining are too bulky. These days’ industries have to deal with the challenge of applying adhesive bonds with small tolerances, while the geometrical dimensions of the applied adhesives change due to the curing process of the bond. This effect is called ‘adhesive shrinkage’. This paper explains the effects of adhesive shrinkage, during bonding processes, on internal bond stress and the influences on position accuracy of the adherent parts. Effect of parameters like curing time, gap size between components and adhesive volume are studied. This is done by use of a test setup containing a manipulator with force sensor to simulate an industrial setup for the application of similar adhesive bonds. Results show that the gapsize has influence on shrinkage behaviour, whereas the adhesive volume, which defines the cross section area of the bond, is less important. Results can be used to develop a bonding procedure, which leads to an optimal balance between position accuracy and bond stress, thus guaranteeing a reliable and accurate bond in industrial manufacturing environments.