Bond Standoffs for Sliding Adhesive Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional adhesive bonding methods face challenges when assembling or repairing components that require horizontal or lateral sliding, as the adhesive is often wiped off during the process, complicating assembly and repair due to interference or bonding face orientation.
Innovation Solution
The use of compressible bond standoffs on the bonding regions, which retain uncured adhesive and facilitate sliding by maintaining a bond gap, allowing for horizontal assembly and repair while applying pressure and heat to form a solid adhesive bond.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If components are assembled by horizontal sliding, then assembly flexibility and accessibility are improved, but adhesive is wiped off the bonding face
Solution Approach 1:
Bond standoffs serve as intermediary elements between the bonding faces, maintaining a controlled gap that prevents adhesive from being wiped off during sliding while still allowing the components to be assembled horizontally. The standoffs mediate between the sliding motion and adhesive retention requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
Adhesive is applied to the bonding face before the sliding assembly operation. The bond standoffs are pre-positioned to ensure the adhesive remains in place during the subsequent sliding motion, allowing the assembly to be completed in a single horizontal operation.
2Loss of substance
If bond standoffs are used to retain adhesive, then adhesive retention is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The bonding interface is segmented into multiple discrete bond standoffs distributed across the bonding face. This segmentation allows adhesive to be retained at multiple locations simultaneously, ensuring uniform adhesive distribution and retention without requiring a complex continuous structure.
Solution Approach 2:
Bond standoffs are strategically positioned at specific locations where adhesive retention is most critical. The local quality of the bonding interface is enhanced at these key positions while maintaining simplicity elsewhere, balancing adhesive retention with overall structural simplicity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables successful horizontal assembly and repair of components by preventing adhesive loss during sliding, ensuring a strong and reliable adhesive bond between polymeric composite and metal components.
Implementation Method 1
The plurality of bond standoffs may be compressible
Implementation Method 2
pressure may be applied that initially can serve to slightly compress the plurality of bond standoffs to facilitate wetting out and flow of the uncured adhesive
Implementation Method 3
heat or energy, as well as pressure, may be applied to the first bonding region and the second bonding region to form the solid adhesive bond
Data Source
AI summary
Adhesive bonds may be formed between components (e.g., automotive) by sliding components into position without wiping or removing the uncured adhesive. Here, a first bonding region has an uncured adhesive and a plurality of bond standoffs that is positioned adjacent to a second bonding region. Bond standoffs promote sliding between the first and second components, while substantially retaining the uncured adhesive during the sliding. Bond standoffs can be formed on the surface, for example, by molding or stamping. The first and second bonding regions slide into engagement, followed by applying pressure, heat, and/or energy as needed, to form a solid adhesive bond. Methods of repairing manufactured components (e.g., automotive) are also provided with such techniques, including the ability to slide parts into place without removing the uncured adhesive, using bond standoffs formed as strips of adhesive cured on the substrate component or tacks pinned into a composite substrate component.