Join Venkat Nandivada, Manager of Technical Support at Master Bond, as he discusses Supreme 12AOHT-LO, a one part thermally conductive, toughened epoxy system that passes ASTM E595 tests for NASA low outgassing. This interview was featured in Azo Materials.
Q: How does Master Bond help engineers find an adhesive system?
A: Since our founding in 1976, Master Bond has focused on customer driven product development. The majority of our 3,000 adhesive, sealant, coating and encapsulation compounds were formulated as a result of customer’s specific application requirements, ranging from thermal to mechanical to optical properties. Several of our products also meet strict industry standards, such as NASA low outgassing, FAR 25.853(a) for flame retardancy and RoHS standards, among others.
Q: Can you provide an example of a challenging bonding application?
A: Recently, an aerospace company contacted us requiring an easily dispensible adhesive for bonding polyimide to aluminum. These materials have significantly different coefficients of thermal expansion, so the material would need to offer toughness. This application was also featured high volume production of approximately 200,000 units per month.
Q: What were the conditions that the adhesive would be facing?
A: The adhesive would be exposed repeated thermal cycling over the wide service temperature range of -55°C to +175°C with a 5-10°C minimum ramp up and dwell times exceeding 1 hour at extremes. Vacuum compatibility would also be required.
Q: Did the company try to use a different system before contacting Master Bond?
A: Yes. They were using a two part, high temperature resistant adhesive. There was too much flow in the uncured state, which was not desirable. The physical strength properties were insufficient, and it did not withstand the thermal cycling since it was too brittle. Also, the product couldn’t meet the company’s productivity demands.
Q: What did you recommend?
A: We recommended Supreme 12AOHT-LO, a one part thermally conductive, toughened epoxy system that passes ASTM E595 tests for NASA low outgassing. It offers excellent thermal cycling resistance as well as a high tensile lap shear strength exceeding 3,500 psi at room temperature.
Q: What other unique benefits does this epoxy offer?
A: As a single component system, Supreme 12AOHT-LO features convenient handling with an unlimited working life at room temperature. It offers rapid cures at 125°C, supporting high volume production. With a smooth thixotropic paste consistency, Supreme 12AOHT-LO is easily dispensed and has notable dimensional stability. This system also combines excellent electrical insulation along with substantial thermal conductivity.
Q: Are there any new epoxy systems in development at the moment?
A: Our chemists are constantly working on new formulations to meet the needs of the industry. Recently, we’ve been working on epoxy systems for applications requiring very high heat transfer and ultra low thermal resistance. The key here is to use an extremely small sized, highly thermally conductive filler for achieving very thin bond lines.
Q: Where can you learn more about Supreme 12AOHTLO?
A: Additional information can be found by requesting a technical data sheet.
Meet Our Tech Expert:
Venkat Nandivada has been a Manager of Technical Sales at Master Bond since 2010. He has a Masters in Chemical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. He analyzes application oriented issues and provides product solutions for companies in the aerospace, electronics, medical, optical, OEM and oil/chemical industries
