Adhesive for Automotive Lighting

Photo courtesy of DELO Adhesives.

DELO has developed a new adhesive for automotive lighting applications. Photobond OB4189 is resistant to yellowing and, with its high aspect ratio, is particularly suitable for bonding microlens arrays, such as those found in headlights and projection systems.

These days, light is considered among the most important elements of automotive design and differentiation. Microlens arrays are a key player in these developments. They project LED light, which sits behind a very short focal length, providing sharp images and individual geometries. These systems are increasingly being used as optics in headlights and projection systems due to their low required installation depth.

For increased efficiency, such microlenses are often made of optically pure polymers. The microlens arrays are then fixed to a housing. With a high viscosity of 75,000 millipascal-seconds, Photobond OB4189 enables a high enough aspect ratio for the bonding process. The adhesive thus retains its shape after dispensing and does not flow, which is important for bonding microlens arrays. It is also resistant to yellowing, as shown by life cycle simulations of 500 hours at 140 C.

The modified acrylate is solvent-free and developed for a temperature application range of -40 to 120 C. It has a compressive shear strength of 30 megapascals (MPa) on polycarbonate and 25 MPa on PMMA. It can be cured with UV light (with a wavelength 365 nanometers) and visible light (with a wavelength of 400 nanometers). The typical exposure time with visible light with a layer thickness of 100 microns is 5 seconds. This enables high-precision active alignment processes for optical components and low cycle times in automated production.

See this company at The ASSEMBLY Show South, May 1-2, in Nashville, TN.

DELO Adhesives
www.delo-adhesives.com

John has been with ASSEMBLY magazine since February 1997. John was formerly with a national medical news magazine, and has written for Pathology Today and the Green Bay Press-Gazette. John holds a B.A. in journalism from Northwestern University, Medill School of Journalism.

The ASSEMBLY Show South

ASSEMBLY is thrilled to return to the Music City Center in Nashville, TN for The ASSEMBLY Show SOUTH on May 1-2, 2024. This is a booming time for manufacturing and the U.S. South is right in the heart of the action. According to ASSEMBLY’s most recent annual capital spending survey, the South is projected to account for 31 percent of total spending this year, marking the fifth straight year this region has accounted for at least 30 percent of capital spending in the U.S.

In this session, manufacturers will learn how Quality function deployment (QFD) can transform consumers’ qualitative demands into quantitative parameters that will shape the design of their product and, ultimately, their manufacturing process.

Sponsored by: