Clearview National December 2016 - Issue 181 | Page 61

DOORS&WINDOWS

Controlled application of
adhesive on a Sunsquare
pyramid style roof light

High flow gun allows the
adhesive to easily flood
the bond channel to
encase the foam packer

Durability and performance have
been enhanced by new adhesive

TEROSON primer is rollerapplied to hide the mechanism
and protect it from UV light

A typical Sunsquare roof light
that features four HENKEL
adhesive applications

alternative is both a sealant
and an adhesive that boosts the
durability and performance of
the end product.
The chemical basis of this
TEROSON® product is a silane
modified polymer which reacts
with moisture in the air and
cures to form a high performance
polymer. Henkel adhesives
incorporating this technology

contain an adhesion promoter
as part of the formulation and
are proven to provide excellent
weathering and ageing resistance.
Indeed, the specific product
recommended by Henkel for this
particular Sunsquare application
is more commonly used in
the manufacture of showers
and was extensively tested by
Henkel to ensure it provided
the performance that Sunsquare
required.
This opaque, black adhesive
and sealant is now applied as a
bead to the parallel edges of each
glazed joint. A polyurethane
foam packer is then put in the
channel and the adhesive flooded
over the top to encase it. A thin
film of LOCTITE® spray solvent
is then applied to surface to
make the adhesive a little more
spreadable so that any excess can
be skimmed off to create a flat
and clean seam. The solvent also
enables the adhesive to be easily
removed from the glass.
To optimise the application
of the TEROSON® adhesive
sealant, Henkel has also installed
a 25k piston drum pump with a
dispense ratio of 24:1. The final
system will have two guns; one
for fine line applications such
as the sealing of Sunsquare’s
pyramid style rooflights and the
other, high flow, for channel
flooding.
“The silicone we used before
took over 2.5 hours to skin
over and even longer when the
ambient temperature was lower.
Not only does TEROSON®
outperform the silicone, it skins
over in just 20 minutes and is
sufficiently hardened for us to
move the glazed unit in an hour.
This means it can be moved to
a crate to cure fully, so we can
increase our throughput,” James
Boughton explained.
He added: “With the addition
of the drum pu mp we also have
greater control over how much
product we use and ultimately
this will result in further cost
savings.”

PROTECTING THE
WORKFORCE AND
ENVIRONMENT
Another successful application
for Henkel has been the use of
one of its TEROSON® black
windscreen primers to apply an
opaque mask around the edge
of the glazed frame to protect
upstands from UV light. It also
makes the unit more aesthetically
pleasing at it effectively hides the
mechanism.
After application, the
previously-used primer dried to
form a very uneven surface but,
as the TEROSON® primer can be
roller-applied, it is both smooth
and gives a clearly defined edge.
Furthermore, it cures in just
20 minutes. The success of this
application isn’t judged purely in
terms of its efficiency, however.
Another big benefit is VOC
reduction as the TEROSON®
product is free from chlorinated
hydrocarbons and aromatic
solvents.
MD Justin Seldis confirmed:
“As well as striving to be the
best at what we do, Sunsquare
is also very proud of its green
credentials. Indeed, the company
has just been shortlisted for
‘Manufacturer of the Year’ in the
Business Green Leaders Awards
run by the Carbon Charter.”
“In its recommendations for
appropriate adhesives, Henkel
guides us with VOC reduction
in mind,” James Boughton
continued. “We have a very good
working relationship with the
Henkel team. Nothing has been
rushed, we have worked together
stage-by-stage to arrive at the best
solutions.”
Sunsquare also takes advantage
of Henkel’s POD system, a
secure and easy-to-use web
tool for ordering LOCTITE®,
TEROSON® and BONDERITE®
brands. This facility, coupled
with regular monthly visits by a
Henkel sales engineer, to evaluate
adhesive usage and projected
needs, ensures there is no delay in
supply to interrupt production.

TIME AND COMPONENT
SAVINGS
The final Henkel adhesive
application is in the assembly
of the framework. Cleats made
from Zamac and aluminium have,
for some time, been bonded into
the frame to provide additional
strength at points of stress.
Although the adhesive Sunsquare
had been using was sufficiently
strong for the purpose, it was
described as being ‘gloopy’.
Consequently, it oozed from the
joint after application, wasting
product and involving additional
clean-up time.
To address this issue, Henkel
recommended a LOCTITE®
acrylic structural bonding
adhesive whose thixotropic
formulation would not run out
of the joint. To ensure it would
provide the necessary bond
strength it was also subjected to
extensive lab testing by Henkel
and the outcome was extremely
positive. Indeed, thanks to the
strength of the bond, Sunsquare
has subsequently been able to
dispense with stainless steel straps
that were previously needed
to support the structure under
stress.

‘focus on innovation’
“We are saving the cost of
the straps as well as minimising
adhesive wastage and eliminating
clean-up time,” James Boughton
concluded. “We can’t yet quantify
how all our process changes are
benefiting Sunsquare but our
newly appointed process manager
is working on it.”
For a company which has
such sharp focus on innovation,
optimising production processes
is an essential element in funding
further research and development
of the next generation of
rooflights. Sunsquare clearly
values its partnership with
Henkel in this regard and the
two continue to work together at
making the best, even better.

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