What are you gluing?

Wood and furniture

For wood, we’d usually suggest electronic temperature control: the MS 200.E or MS 200 LCD, which suit dusty places such as sawmills, or an LCD air gun for long days. Keep the surfaces clean, dry and free of dust and grease, and tell us what the joint has to hold.

• Why electronic: a steadier temperature, ±2 °C against ±5 °C on the thermostat MS 200.
• Dust: it shortens maintenance intervals, so keep the lid and vent clean.

Labels and food packs

For labels and food packs, the adhesive matters most. There are hot melts made for PET bottle labels and drinking straws. On food cartons and cases the glue holds the pack, not the food, so most packaging hot melts suit them. The MS and TR bulk guns run them, and a 10 mm slot nozzle replaces glue dots. Tell us the label, container and conditions.

• Hands-free: a footswitch works on any air-driven gun, and the bench mount fits the TR 50.5, TR 55.2 LCD, TR 700 and TR 70 LCD (see the worked example on the cartons page).

Displays and POS

For cardboard displays and point-of-sale stands, a display-erection hot melt runs in the TR 55.2 LCD, TR 50.5, MS 200 and MS 80, and sprays wide display panels with the TR 60 LCD. Run length usually decides: a mechanical gun for a few displays, an air-driven gun for a full day of assembly.

What makes a hot melt bond hold?

• Surfaces clean, free of grease and dry.
• Warm metal or stone parts first, or the glue cools in the gap before it wets.
• When gluing by hand, a bigger dot stays hot longer.
• Keep adhesive bags and tubs closed: dirt in the glue blocks nozzles.
• The nozzle sets both how much glue goes down and how fast you can join.

When is hot melt not the answer?

• It can creep under constant load.
• It has limited heat resistance and low resistance to chemicals and moisture.
• The glue line cannot be made thinner than the glue’s viscosity allows.
• The heat reaches the parts you bond.

If your job runs into any of these, tell us before you buy.

New to hot melt? Hot melt adhesive, in short covers the main types and the forms it comes in.