Viscoelastic tapes and other solutions for the automotive industry

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For more than 90 years, tesa has been collaborating with its partners in the automotive industry to develop custom-made mounting solutions for a wide variety of vehicle applications. With its worldwide production sites and Customer Solution Centers, the company comprehensively supports car manufacturers in optimizing their products and processes and in meeting the highest quality standards.

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Automotive

For industrial applications in the automotive sector alone, customers may choose among a range of approximately 500 single-sided and 500 double-sided tesa adhesive tapes. For the constructive bonding of exterior parts to vehicle bodies, car manufacturers often rely on tesa acrylic foam tapes as mounting solutions. Automotive OEMs and OES use the so-called viscoelastic ACX^plus adhesive tapes for high-performance bonding in many areas in the vehicle. For efficient use of the adhesive tapes in production, tesa also supplies ACX^plus as a spool, up to 1,400m in length.

These adhesive tapes allow different materials to be firmly bonded to the vehicle body. The challenge here is that different materials have different thermal expansion properties. As a result, huge static and dynamic loads act on the structural connections between the car body and the exterior parts during the service life of a vehicle. These adhesive tapes manage to optimally compensate for thermal expansions and the resulting stress and thus give attachment parts a secure hold on the vehicle body. They benefit from their elastic and viscous properties, which guarantee internal strength and the compensation of mechanical loads. Furthermore, they offer reliable sealing and vibration absorption.

"We strive to be a strong and reliable partner for our customers in the automotive industry. We benefit from our global positioning – not only in production, but also in our Customer Solution Centers."

Boris Kawa

Corporate Marketing Director of the Business Unit Automotive at tesa

But why is this so important? In the automotive sector, manufacturers and suppliers are often faced with the question of how they can permanently and constructively mount a wide variety of exterior parts and materials to the vehicle body, for example plastic to steel, steel to glass or painted surfaces to fiber composites. Things may get complicated, especially when conventional mechanical mounting materials such as rivets, seams or liquid glue are not suitable.

around 1000

different adhesive tapes

for precision-fit solutions for the automotive industry are included in tesa's product range

Collaborative development work in tesa's global Customer Solution Centers

tesa is a close partner to the automotive industry and is familiar with the technical challenges of the industry. For many years, the company has been working together with automobile manufacturers (OEM) and suppliers (OES) in order to resolve their challenges. However, tesa also offers technical support and helps to further optimize production processes.

"It is our declared goal to support our customers in developing and manufacturing even better products and taking their products and production processes to the next level.

David Caro

Corporate Vice President of the Business Unit Automotive at tesa

In order to offer its industrial partners the best possible support, tesa has set up Customer Solution Centers (CSC) on three continents. There, together with the customers adhesive applications are developed that perfectly fit their needs and desires. Other than the CSC locations in China and the USA, the team in the German Customer Solution Center exclusively serves the automotive industry.

2021_Market-Segment-Plan_OES Exterior_condensed version en 2

Long before new car models reach the market, the tapes are tested on prototypes in our laboratories. Moreover, tesa supports the customers also with the certification of bonded parts and assemblies, including adhesive connections: Either already approved adhesive tapes are used that match customer requirements or tesa may help with the certification of a new, customized tape for a specific project. Once the development process has been completed, tesa also supports the customer with training on the use of adhesive tapes.

When developing and using its adhesive solutions, tesa always sets high quality standards. Thus, the company extensively tests its products and solutions to match the requirements and specifications of the respective customers. This is the only way to meet tesa’s own high standards and reliably offer optimal solutions to partners from the automotive industry worldwide.

tesa^® ACX^plus acrylate foam adhesive tapes

The basis for the high adhesive power of the tesa^® ACX^plus acrylate foam adhesive tapes is their viscoelasticity: the related elastic and viscous properties ensure internal strength and the compensation of mechanical strain. Different atmospheric conditions, such as rain, snow, strong UV radiation, the penetration of moisture or extreme temperatures – a structural bond must be able to withstand a wide variety of external influences. tesa^® ACX^plus acrylic foam tapes offer elevated temperature stability and resistance to various weather conditions. The main reason for this fact is the oxidation resistance of the saturated carbon chain, a property that is common to all acrylates used in tesa^® ACX^plus. Moreover, the special chemical hardening properties of the product generate an exceptional temperature-resistant structure. The result is a superior bonding strength, which features excellent temperature, weather and UV stability and is resistant to chemical influences.

tesa – Partner to the automotive industry

As a leading global manufacturer of innovative and reliable adhesive solutions for the automotive industry, we support trends such as the electrification of the powertrain and the interior of the future with a wide range of high-performance adhesive tapes.