Home / AB2750-EFB: Expanded Polyethylene Foam (EPE)-to-Foam and Foam-to-Substrate Bonding

AB2750-EFB: Expanded Polyethylene Foam (EPE)-to-Foam and Foam-to-Substrate Bonding

  • Rapid EPE foam to foam multilayer stacking for packaging protection 
  • Rapid bonding for closed foam to foam and foam to substrate bonding 
  • Highest bond strength for EPE foam to foam, and foam to substrates bonding

EPE foam being non-polar is notoriously hard form good bonding. AB2750-EFB is the only known water-based contact cement engineered to provide instant green tack and robust handling strength within a few minutes. When fully set, the bond strength of AB2750-EFB for foam-to-foam bonding exceeds the intrinsic strength of the foam without special preparation of priming. Closed cell foam such as EPE foam is a non-porous and non-polar that takes longer to form bonding than typical open cell polyurethane foams even for solvent-borne contact adhesive.

Polyethylene foam is used for packaging industry and specialty applications that required higher stiffness with strength while maintaining the stress absorption of foam for article protection.

Polyethylene foam of expanded polyethylene foam is challenging due to the material’s non-porous (closed cell foam) and its inherently low-surface surface. Conventional way to bonding polyethylene foam is to use specialty solvent-based rubber cements.

It is particularly challenging for water-based adhesive. Even the best in class provides only reasonable bond strength for foam to foam and foam to wood-paper-plastic-metal bonding. The common comments for the best-in-class water-based foam adhesive, the following are some of the common recommendations: “However, as with all water-based adhesives on polyethylene, testing for your specific application is recommended to ensure sufficient bond strength.” “While it adheres to many foams and plastics, polyethylene’s surface may still present adhesion challenges, so trial application is essential.” “Like all water-based options, it may require surface preparation or priming for best results on polyethylene foam.” (https://www.perplexity.ai/search/water-based-adhesive-for-bondi-c4GTD.fmROCzuHb5YS.ExA )

Compatibility Matching between Foam Adhesive with Foam Material Chemistry for Long-Lasting Strong Bonding:

Whether it is for high volume manufacturing, profession or DIY projects, selecting the right foam adhesive for bonding is crucial for the success. Compatibility matching is critical for the consistent long-lasting bonding and bond strength whether the adhesive is used for bonding foam to itself to form thicker layer or bonding foam to wood, paper, plastics or metals. 

Almost all foam types with exception of one: expanded polyethylene or cross-linked expanded polyethylene (EPE) foam can used water-based foam acrylic, polyurethane, or chloroprene types of foam adhesive. The choice is the speed to foam tacking and achieving handling bond strength until the water-based adhesive is fully set that is typically achieved within 24 hours in ambient conditions. AB2550-PFB provides instant bonding to open-cell foams to itself and porous and non-porous substrates.

EPE foam being non-polar required either solvent-borne contact adhesive or other adhesive that needed surface primers and/or treatment. Almost all commercially available water-based adhesives are not engineered for this type of foam bonding. AB2750-EFB is the only known water-based contact adhesive that is engineered and tested to achieve foam-to-foam bonding exceeding the intrinsic EPE strength in multi-layer lamination for product packing applications.

While most EPE foam lamination for building up thicknesses or for bonding foam preform to each other are done with heat-fusion. With the ability to use AB2750-EFB is the only known water-based contact cement engineered to provide instant green tack and robust handling strength within a few minutes. This capability with water-based contact adhesive may help to open up the application of the water-resistant foam for large area and contour and curve surfaces to be protected for both indoor and outdoor uses.

When fully set, the bond strength of AB2750-EFB for foam-to-foam bonding exceeds the intrinsic strength of the foam without special preparation of priming. Closed cell foam such as EPE foam is a non-porous and non-polar that takes longer to form bonding than typical open cell polyurethane foams even for solvent-borne contact adhesive. 

AB2750-EFB being the only known water-based contact cement engineered to provide instant green tack and robust handling strength within a few minutes. It enables a heath-friendly field bonding of EPE for without having to resort to use of traditional solvent-borne contact adhesives. This capability with water-based contact adhesive also enables the use of the unique properties of EPE foams for large area and contour and curve surfaces to be protected.

AB2750-EFB is the only known water-based contact cement engineered to provide instant green tack and robust handling strength within a few minutes. While it does not have the same speed of bonding EPE foams to itself and substrates, it does provides outstanding bond strength for all of the common open-cell foams between themselves and onto most common substrates.