The story:
Krayden worked closely with a national Agricultural Cultivator to develop their very first machine. Partnering with LORD, Krayden helped to solve bonding issues of their endcaps due to material composition. Fast forward more than a year later and several LORD bonding tests later, this company is producing 500+ machines a year and dominating their respective space.
| What is the application? | Bonding two endcaps to each end of a 4 ft long tumbler assembly. This tumbler spins at an extremely high rate continuous. These ends are disassembled and cleaned using FDA approved cleaners intermittently. |
| What issues was the end-user having? | They had difficulty bonding these endcaps due to material composition. They chose Tritan Copolyester from the manufacturer which has extremely low surface energy. In addition, these endcaps hold 30 metal wires (roughly 5mm) running across from one end to another. Another issue arose during the cleaning process when material began to shrink after their dip process which began letting go of adhesive. We trialed 4 or 5 different materials which all had the same issue. |
| What material was used to solve the issue? | LORD 7800 A/D |
| Why was the material chosen for the application? | We initially made a breakthrough with LORD 7542 A/B which bonded very well and was the only material to survive the cleaning process. We then trialed 7800A/C, and 7800 A/D as the cure times for 7542 were being affected during cold weather during winter. We settled on 7800A/D as the winner due to optimal setup and cure time. |
| Why did this material work better than other materials? | It worked because it bonded to the Triton and was able to retain adhesive strength after dip clean process. |
| Was this material lower cost than other materials? | No |
| Did this material improve the process? | Yes, exponentially |
| Savings to end user in cost of material or process improvement? Time, $ or both? | Cost of material negligible compared to the amount of time saved in manufacturing and improvement of product overall. Greatly reduced failures in the field. |
| What industry/market was this material used in? | Agricultural Cultivator |
