Hot Melt Adhesive Key Terms

Get acquainted with key terms related to hot melt adhesives

By Howard Robertson

A hot melt adhesive (also known as a hot melt glue) is a thermoplastic adhesive that usually comes in the form of either hot melt glue sticks or adhesive tapes.

Whether you want to become a hot melt adhesive manufacturer or you want to use hot melt adhesives for your applications, you will need to be conversant with the technical terms that indicate types, specifications and standards for hot melt adhesives.

This guide will familiarize you with some of the key terms related to hot melt adhesives, such as adhesive tapes, melt viscosity, cohesion and shear adhesion.

Adhesive tape

An adhesive tape is a form of hot melt adhesive. An adhesive tape is a fastening tape which allows temporary or permanent adhesion between objects. These tapes are either single-sided or double-sided and can be activated by water or heat depending on the application purpose.
Try: Electro Tape Specialties, a manufacturer of pressure sensitive tape products, provides more description about adhesive tapes.

Self adhesive tape

A self adhesive tape (or a pressure sensitive adhesive tape) is a type of adhesive tape that is sticky at room temperature.
Try: For information about self adhesive tapes, you can refer to Prostick Adhesive Tapes Pvt. Ltd., an adhesives manufacturer.

Melt viscosity

Melt viscosity is an important characteristic of a hot melt adhesive. In general, as the temperature of a polymer increases, its viscosity decreases. In a hot melt adhesive, the melt temperature controls the viscosity. This controls the degree of surface wetting.
Try: To learn more about melt viscosity, you can refer to the Digital Library and Archives (DLA) (PDF), a department in the University Libraries at Virginia Tech.

Cohesion

Cohesion is the internal strength of an adhesive. It is the result of a number of interactions within the adhesive.
Try: The Adhesive and Sealant Council, Inc. provides detailed information about adhesion and cohesion.

Shear adhesion

Shear adhesion (also known as holding power) refers to the time an adhesive tape holds under definite shear load.
Try: monta Klebebandwerk GmbH (PDF), a manufacturer of self-adhesive packaging tapes, explains more about shear adhesion. Glue Machinery Corporation also provides information about shear adhesion.

CTE (Coefficient of Thermal Expansion)

CTE is the total linear expansion or shrinkage that occurs in a substance or material due to a change in temperature.
Try: GlobalSpec, an online information resource, provides detailed description about CTE.

ASTM D4499 - 07

American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) offers the standard ASTM D4499 - 07 for hot melt adhesives. This standard outlines the normal test method for heat stability of hot melt adhesives.
Try: For a complete understanding about this standard, you can refer to ASTM International’s website.