Category: intertronics academy

A peristaltic pump uses a turning rotor to squeeze plastic tubing and push fluid along inside the tubing. It is one of the simplest pumps you can buy, finding use in many places including hospitals inside kidney dialysis machines, in advanced manufacturing setups to precisely dispense adhesives, and in mines and quarries where large industrial […]

Every production line has a rhythm. In lean manufacturing, that rhythm is called takt time – the rate at which a finished product must be completed to meet customer demand. The word takt comes from the German for “beat” or “cycle”, a reminder that an efficient process moves like well-timed music. Too fast, and you […]

What does the Shore hardness number on your adhesive’s datasheet actually mean? In this JoinedUpMinute, Craig explains how hardness is measured and why it matters when selecting a material. You’ll learn: What Shore hardness tells you about resistance to indentation The differences between Shore 00, A, and D scales If you’re choosing a material based on […]

Coating, encapsulation, or potting – which is right for protecting your electronics? In this JoinedUpMinute, Ian explains the key differences between three common protection methods: Coating (aka conformal coating) — a thin protective film over a PCB assembly Encapsulation (sometimes called ‘glob topping’) — a thicker layer over specific areas Potting — filling an enclosure […]

Struggling to see your adhesive on clear parts? Fluorescing adhesives can light the way—literally. In this JoinedUpMinute, Craig explains how fluorescence can support visual process control in medical device manufacturing. You’ll learn: What fluorescence is and how it works How it helps confirm adhesive placement and coverage Why red-fluorescing adhesives can be easier to inspect […]

If your product touches the human body—or goes inside it—biocompatibility matters. In this JoinedUpMinute, Darren explains ISO 10993: What it is and why it’s important The types of tests it includes, like irritation and sensitisation Why choosing pre-tested materials can streamline medical device approvals Working on a medical application? We’ve got materials that meet ISO […]

Don’t blow a gasket over the difference between cure-in-place and form-in-place gaskets. Just watch Kevin explain in this JoinedUpMinute. In 66 seconds, you’ll learn: What liquid gaskets are used for How form-in-place and cure-in-place methods differ The benefits and behaviours of each approach Watch here: JoinedUpMinute is our weekly minute-long video sharing insights from our […]

The 85°C/85% RH test is a standardised environmental reliability test in which a product or material is exposed to a constant temperature of 85°C and a relative humidity of 85% for an extended period, typically up to 1,000 hours. This test is designed to simulate harsh, real-world environmental conditions and is widely used to assess […]

Material datasheets list viscosity values ranging from single digits to hundreds of thousands. But what do those numbers actually mean? In this JoinedUpMinute, Rachel demystifies viscosity and breaks down what it is and why it matters. In this video, you’ll learn:🔸 How viscosity is measured🔸 How different viscosities behave🔸 Why viscosity is a key factor […]

In this JoinedUpMinute, Matt walks you through the key steps for preparing a two-part cartridge before dispensing. You’ll learn: The correct preparation process for two-part cartridges How skipping steps can affect your chances of success Let’s go! Read more about this topic in our blog How to prepare two-part cartridges for dispensing. JoinedUpMinute is our […]

What, actually, is UV light? Today’s JoinedUpMinute video features Peter exploring: Where UV falls on the electromagnetic spectrum The difference between visible and UV light What UV light is made of And… can you see it? Ride the wave(length): Read more about this topic in our blog Can you see UV light? JoinedUpMinute is our […]

What makes an adhesive “structural”? Here’s Kevin to explain in this week’s JoinedUpMinute video. You’ll learn: What a structural adhesive is What adhesive chemistries are typically structural What each of those chemistries are particularly good at How to select a structural adhesive for your application Have a look! Download our Structural Adhesive Selector Guide here […]

Here’s this week’s JoinedUpMinute video, with Holly talking about the difference between pot life and working life (also known as open time). You’ll learn: What is pot life What is working life Why understanding these properties affects the quality of your process Let’s go! For further information on this topic, have a read of our […]

Sometimes, UV cured materials may have a tacky surface after curing. Here’s Simon to explain in this week’s JoinedUpMinute video. You’ll learn: What can cause a tacky surface on UV-cured materials What it looks like How to rectify the problem Check it out! You can also read our blog post on achieving a tack-free cure […]

Peter might have odd taste in sandwich fillings, but thixotropy helps him along the way. In this JoinedUpMinute video, he answers: What ‘thixotropic’ means—with examples from your kitchen The concept of shear thinning How thixotropic materials impact dispensing The benefits of thixotropic materials in manufacturing Have a look:   JoinedUpMinute is our weekly minute-long video […]

We’re mixing it up in this week’s JoinedUpMinute video, where Allie gets to the bottom of planetary centrifugal mixers. She’ll explain: How planetary centrifugal mixers work What they’re best at mixing The benefits over other types of mixers Here’s Allie to tell you more: If you’d like to explore the topic further, here are some […]

Adhesives versus sealants – aren’t they kind of the same thing? Spend a minute with Kevin today while he explains: What is a structural adhesive What is a sealant What is the common ground between adhesives and sealants Get stuck in! If you like Kevin’s style and want him to provide you with a tailored […]

Today, we’re talking about surface science – specifically about tensiometers – courtesy of Alison. She explains: What tensiometers are able to measure Different types of tensiometers, such as force tensiometer, bubble tensiometer, or optical tensiometer (also known as contact angle meter) Check it out! You can find out more about specific types of tensiometers on […]

Does your unmixed epoxy adhesive contain lumps or look a bit milky? Don’t throw it away! Just spare a minute for Kevin to explain epoxy crystallisation in this week’s JoinedUpMinute video. You’ll learn: Signs of epoxy crystallisation What causes epoxy crystallisation How to reverse the crystallisation so you can use the epoxy as usual Check […]

Kevin graces our screens with his breakdown of static mixing nozzles and how to tell exactly which one you are holding. If you receive mixing nozzles with adhesive materials but don’t know what part number they are to order more, this JoinedUpMinute video was designed with you in mind. You’ll learn: Different mixing nozzle shapes […]

Happy new year, and welcome to our first JoinedUpMinute video of 2025. In this video, Alison gives a quick explanation of Dyne pens and measuring surface tension and energy. She covers: Measurement units for surface tension Surface tension versus surface energy How Dyne pens are used to indicate surface energy Have a look!   JoinedUpMinute […]

Our final JoinedUpMinute for 2024 is a speedy overview of wetting, courtesy of Alison. She explains: What wetting is and why it’s important How wetting relates to surface energy How to improve wetting Check it out!   If you want to dive deeper into how to improve wetting, have a look at our video How […]

Matt returns to our screens again in this week’s JoinedUpMinute video, outlining how to control a dose of material when using a time/pressure dispenser. In 58 seconds, he goes over what four major factors influence dosing control. Check it out!   Find out more about these factors and get some other great dispensing insights by […]

In this week’s JoinedUpMinute video, Craig gets to the root of what exotherm is and why it’s important. In just 57 seconds, he covers: What exothermic reaction is Why you should care about exotherm How exotherm can be helpful Have a look!   JoinedUpMinute is our weekly minute-long video sharing insights from our world. You […]

This week, our JoinedUpMinute video is about how room temperature vulcanising (“RTV”) silicones cure, courtesy of Ben. You’ll learn: What’s the most important factor in curing for RTV silicones? What are the other variables at play? Have a look!   For more information about curing, read “Adhesive Problem? What’s the Cure?”. And naturally, you’ll find product […]

All the basics of what should be in your dispensing robot specification in a single minute! This week’s JoinedUpMinute video features Peter’s expert advice. You’ll learn: The 4 top factors, outside of the robot itself, that affect your robot specification What you need to consider about the rest of your dispensing process   Feast your […]

In this week’s JoinedUpMinute video, Craig provides an overview of what plasma surface treatment accomplishes. You’ll learn: What is plasma? What are the various benefits of plasma in surface treatment? Check it out! For more information about improving surface treatment with plasma, here are some further resources: Video: How does plasma surface treatment improve adhesion? […]

We’re kicking off a new video series called JoinedUpMinute, and our inaugural clip features Matt giving a quick tutorial on how to mix a twinpack. He reviews: Basic mixing methods for twinpacks How to mix the material completely and thoroughly How to dispense material that comes in a twinpack Have a look!   For further […]

Two part adhesives, potting compounds and similar materials need to be mixed in the correct ratio of the two parts in order to achieve the properties stated on the product data sheet. In many cases, this is easy. Most of our two part structural adhesives are packaged in two-part cartridges with static mixing nozzles, so […]

Adhesives are chemicals; they require your respect when using them. You should consult and follow the SDS (safety data sheet) and the manufacturer’s recommendations before using to minimise risks from skin contact, inhalation of vapours, and exposure to other hazards – and conduct a risk assessment. Once cured, adhesives generally pose limited health and safety […]

An adhesive’s data sheet will detail its storage requirements, but most two-part structural adhesives will last their whole specified shelf life if stored at room temperature in a cool dark place. There are some differences between the chemistries that may impact how they are packaged and stored. For example, both components of a two-part polyurethane […]

It’s common for structural adhesive chemistries like epoxies, polyurethanes (PUs), and methyl methacrylates (MMAs) to have been formulated as two component parts – known as “two-part”, or “2K” adhesives. The two components of these adhesives are generally categorised as the resin (or base) and the hardener (or activator). Mixing the two parts initiates a chemical […]

Many adhesives, sealants, and potting materials are packaged in two-part side-by-side cartridges, which are convenient for material application on the production line or in the field. Cartridges don’t require you to measure out materials in the correct ratio, and by adding the manufacturer’s recommended static mixing nozzle, fully mixed and homogeneous material can be dispensed […]

Our customers often use adhesives and sealants in their products, in a wide variety of applications. They can be seen as quite similar materials, and indeed have overlapping uses. Some adhesives are also used as a sealant; some sealants are also used as an adhesive. We even sell products which are termed “adhesive sealants”. But […]

Having spent more than 30 years working with adhesives and protective materials in technology manufacturing, and with experience of thousands of applications, we have a wealth of knowledge to we want to share. In a bid to help grow your adhesives, dispensing, and curing technology knowledge, we are offering seminars which share our insights, helping […]

UV or ultraviolet light is part of the spectrum of electromagnetic radiation, which also includes radio waves, microwaves, infrared radiation, X-rays, gamma rays – and of course, visible light. These different types of radiation are defined by their wavelengths or frequencies. Radio waves have the longest wavelengths, and gamma rays the shortest. By definition, what […]

A fundamental element of achieving the correct dose of UV light is ensuring the intensity of your UV curing lamp is understood. UV curing intensity as noted on a lamp’s data sheet is typically measured from a particular distance, so if your lamp is not set up to the same distance as the data sheet […]

Cyanoacrylate adhesives (CAs) — also known as “superglue” or instant adhesives — are a popular adhesive choice for many applications, both industrially and domestically. Curing at room temperature in seconds, they provide excellent bond strength on a wide range of similar and dissimilar substrates including metals, plastics, elastomers, ceramics, and porous materials. Achieving these throughput […]

Hygroscopic materials attract and absorb humidity from the air. An example is the way granulated sugar gets lumpy in the sugar bowl or salt clumps in the salt shaker blocking the holes when in humid environments like a steamy kitchen. Lots of materials are hygroscopic, including paper, isopropyl alcohol (IPA), and plastics like ABS. Nylon […]

Viscosity is the resistance of a fluid to flow. This means that different fluids with different viscosities will flow at different rates under the same force. The higher a viscosity a fluid has, the harder you have to push it to move it.  We call a higher viscosity fluid more viscous. You can see why […]

Bonding effectiveness, rapid cure time and process efficiencies have made light curing materials popular for manufacturers for assembly applications. Here, we share three tips for your UV curing processes. With a clear understanding of the UV curing process and the technology available, you can make informed choices and optimise your process. Broad vs narrow spectrum lamps The […]

Sometimes, cured UV adhesives or coatings have a tacky or sticky surface, even after they are exposed to the correct amount of UV light to achieve full cure. If the surface of the adhesive is exposed to atmospheric oxygen during the cure, the oxygen can penetrate into the very top layer and inhibit the polymerisation […]

The fixture time for an adhesive (sometimes called the set time) is the shortest time required by the adhesive to develop handling strength such that substrates can be removed from fixtures, unclamped, or handled without stressing the bond – stress which might affect the ultimate bond strength. We can define handling strength as a (relatively) […]

We wrote about shelf life in this Intertronics academy blog post pot life v shelf life v working life – part 1. Our partners at Dymax have written a blog post entitled 5 Questions to Help You Understand Shelf Life with answers to these questions: How is the shelf life of a product determined? Where do […]

Yes, some are. It is good to understand this chemistry and the different types so that you can make sure you choose an appropriate RTV silicone sealant for your application. RTV silicone sealants are very useful products, because of their outstanding long term thermal resistance and stability (-50° to +180°C or more), long-lasting flexibility and […]

A structural adhesive is an adhesive which “hardens” or cures into a material capable of holding two or more substrates together, bearing the forces involved for the lifetime of the product. It is often termed a “load-bearing” adhesive. The product may undergo shock, vibration, chemical exposure, temperature excursions or many other types of potentially weakening or […]

How to degas a syringe using a THINKY mixing and degassing machine is a visual guide to removing air from syringe packaged materials. Suitable for degassing materials from low to high viscosity the THINKY ARE-250 can also uniformly mix your compound, epoxy, adhesive, silicone, paste, powder or other material before being decanted into syringes and degassed ready […]

In setting up a UV light curing process, the key to success is ensuring that the adhesive or other light curing material receives the correct dose or UV curing energy in order to cure as completely as possible. Dose is the total energy arriving at the surface per unit area and is made up of the […]

We have added a new Technical Bulletin to our Technical Resources to help answer the commonly asked question: “How much adhesive will I need?“. The Technical Bulletin is a guide to calculating approximate amounts of material required, based on the bondline dimensions. “How much adhesive will I need?” also includes a link to download our Adhesive Usage […]

We have added a “how to” video to our YouTube channel. Setting Up a Pressure Pot for Dispensing is a short visual guide for preparing a pressure reservoir for dispensing materials such as adhesives, paints, lacquers, solvents, inks, coatings, oils and many other low to medium viscosity liquids from a pail or bottle. How to set […]

Some of the two-part adhesives, sealants and other materials we supply are packaged in side-by-side syringe cartridges. In this packaging, the materials are already pre-measured in the correct ratio, saving time and material handling. The correct amounts of material are fed into a static mixing nozzle, which ensures thorough mixing whilst no air is introduced. The entire cartridge does […]

We supply a number of our adhesives and potting compounds in twinpacks. This convenient packaging offers benefits – the materials are pre-weighed in their correct mixing ratios, which saves time, and improves quality by removing the step of manually weighing out each part. Mixing within the twinpack reduces the handling of chemicals, cuts down on mess […]

You can buy two (or more) part adhesives which have been pre-measured into the correct proportions, mixed and degassed, filled into a dispensing syringe or cartridge, and then frozen to stop the cure. The adhesive is shipped from the factory to you in an insulated box also containing ice. Upon delivery, you store the adhesive […]

If you ever thought about improving the manual application of your adhesives, oils, greases, solder pastes, sealants, inks or any other liquid or paste, then download a copy of our latest Technology Guide: An Introduction to Time/Pressure Dispensing. It talks about the advantages of this simple technology over brushing, daubing or squeeze bottles. The Guide […]

We see many requirements for an electrically conductive bond formed with an adhesive. They vary from the micro (flip chips onto pcb’s, die-attach) to macro (wires onto sensors), and the range of projects is substantial. Often, our customers would like to use the adhesive in place of solder. The reasons include temperature restrictions, geometry, process […]

In part 1, we talked about shelf life. Let’s turn our attention to pot life and working life, and how they can affect both your specifying decisions and your process. Pot life and working life can be taken to mean the same thing, although in fact there are distinctions between the two terms. They can […]

We get a lot of questions about pot life and the terminology around it, so we’d like to provide some clarification. Nobody could be blamed for thinking that pot life describes how long the adhesive (or sealant, coating, potting compound or gasketing material) can remain useful in the pot they buy it in. And isn’t that the same […]

The problem – Occasionally, we get a call from a customer saying that there is “something wrong” with the epoxy he bought from us. One of the constituents of the two part system (usually part “A”, the resin) has become cloudy, milky, has crystals in it, has become lumpy or slushy, or has even become solidified. The […]

A recent Intertronics academy post discussed the modulus of elasticity of materials. Closely linked to that is another physical factor which we often quote on product data sheets: hardness. One way to define the hardness of a material is its resistance to permanent indentation. We all know that rubber balls are soft, and rock is hard, […]

Many of our material product data sheets (PDS) will quote a number for the modulus of elasticity. The modulus of elasticity is a number which represents the material’s tendency to be deformed elastically (i.e. non-permanently, recovering original size and shape) when a force is applied to it.  A stiffer material will have a higher modulus of elasticity, […]

Most industrial dispensing systems rely on the Luer to fit dispensing needles, dispensing tips and other small fittings together. The Luer taper is a standardised (ISO 594) system for making leak-free connections between a male-taper fitting and its mating female part in the laboratory, industrial and medical world. Luer Slip fittings are simply held together […]