Adhesives and Sealants Key Terms

Learn about the properties of adhesives and sealants by learning the vocabulary

By Terri Deno

Adhesives and sealants are used in thousands of consumer products and industrial applications. Many adhesives are strong enough to bond materials of a significant weight. Adhesives come in a range of strengths to accommodate all types of materials including hard-to-bond surfaces. Adhesives and sealants can be used in one- or two-part processes such as epoxies and resins. Sealants have many adhesive properties to bond to a surface and keep unwanted moisture and other materials out.

Accelerator or catalyst

An accelerator or catalyst is part two of a two-part adhesive formula. The accelerator is used to speed the curing process of a resin.
Try: DYMAX provides an additional explanation of adhesive accelerators and a selector guide to match the accelerator to the right adhesive.

Binder

A binder is a component of an adhesive that is responsible for the bond that holds two materials together.
Try: Chemidex provides a searchable index for all types of binders and resins that includes data sheets and safety information.

Centipoise (CPS)

Centipoise is the unit of measure for viscosity, the thickness of a fluid.
Try: The Engineering Toolbox provides a conversion chart for viscosity that helps to convert from centipoise to poise, stokes and SSU. Syn Lube provides a guide on viscosity and the different types of viscosity that can be measured.

Epoxy

An epoxy is a two-part adhesive. The properties of an epoxy include a low shrinkage rate during curing and a strong resistance to environmental or chemical damage.
Try: 3D Chem provides an explanation of the chemical composition of epoxies and the most common applications for epoxy products.

Fixture time

The fixture time of an adhesive or sealant is the time necessary for the adhesive to hold something in place. The fixture time will vary according to the adhesive, the thickness of the substance, the surface and temperature.
Try: Parson Adhesives provides charts for the specs of different adhesives. The specs include the cure speed, which is the fixture time plus the time needed for full curing.

Tack

The tack of an adhesive is the consistency of the adhesive on a surface that had not finished curing.
Try: The Adhesives and Sealants Industry provides information on the technology used to perform tack tests on a variety of adhesive products.