When to Choose a Custom Single Sided PSA Tape for your Application
As their name implies, single sided pressure sensitive adhesive tape (PSA) consist of a carrier with an adhesive coating on a single side of the carrier. These self-wound tapes are backed by a removable liner, and their carriers options include materials like foam, rubber, paper, foil, fabrics, films, and other options. Single-sided foam tapes are particularly useful in sealing, cushioning, protecting and insulating and applications, while filmic specialty single-sided tapes can be used for everything from EMI shielding to thermal insulation and BSR (buzz, squeak, and rattle reduction.
Single-sided PSA tapes are versatile in their applications because they can be customized with different pairings of carrier material, resulting in a product that is useful in many different industries and applications. Pressure sensitive adhesive options include:
Rubber: ideal for immediate bonds (due to high initial tack) and food safe applications.
Silicone: useful for very high temperature applications or for adhering to silicone substrates.
Acrylic: a widely versatile PSA that can be used across many different environments and temperatures.
Learn more about choosing the right pressure sensitive adhesive option here.
What are the Ideal Uses for Single-Sided PSA Tapes
Whether you are looking to seal, hold, reinforce, insulate, identify, mask, protect, or shield, single-sided PSA tapes can be your solution. The wide variety of material options give manufacturers and product designers diverse options that best fit their specific products and the environments they need to operate in. Single-sided tapes can provide many benefits over other bonding and adhesive solutions:
Quick and clean application: single-sided PSA tapes offer a faster application process with little to no special tools or training. They can also reduce the mess associated with glues or liquid adhesives.
Versatility: single-sided PSA tapes are versatile and can be used across a wide range of materials and surfaces, including plastics, metals, glass, paper, and more.
Temporary bonding: when a temporary bond is needed, PSA tapes with the right adhesive can allow for easy removal or repositioning without leaving residue or damage.
Attaching to irregular surfaces: single-sided PSA tapes conform well to irregular surfaces, ensuring a strong bond even on surfaces with contours or rough textures.
Cost-effective: single-sided PSA tapes are an affordable or cost-comparable solution compared to other bonding methods. The reduction in application time can also help you save on labor costs.
Clean aesthetics: single-sided PSA tapes offer an aesthetically pleasing, low profile, and sleek finish, especially when used for mounting or attaching items.
The ideal applications for custom single-sided tapes include:
Gasketing: can be used as environmental seals in windows, doors, enclosure panels, etc. (Single Sided Foam Tapes).
Sealing and protecting: protecting trailer roof seams with 3M Extreme Sealing Tape ensures long term resistance to moisture intrusion and extreme outdoor environments
Preserving and Protecting: whether protecting the leading edge of windmill blades or preserving equipment in an oil field and then removing cleanly, there are single sided tapes build to meet the challenge
Packaging: frequently used for sealing packages and cartons, providing a secure and tamper-evident closure.
Masking: while crepe tapes are the most widely known for masking, other backings are used for specific masking needs, like polyester tapes for powder coat masking (Polyester Tapes)
Bundling: securing and insulating wires, cables, and components in the electronics with 3M Scotch(R) Super 33+(TM) Electrical Tape and electrical sectors.
Identifying: whether marking lanes in a facility or marking tools for 5S, multicolored single sided tapes like 3M 471 PVC tapes are a convenient solution
Spacers: can be used to fill gaps while providing a strong bond.
EMI/RFI: insulation specialty tapes can provide thermal or EMI/RFI protection (metal foil tapes, glass cloth tapes Kapton Tapes)
Eliminating BSR: slick surface tapes like PTFE tapes, UHMW tapes, help eliminate the sound generated from two surfaces rubbing against each other.
Sound damping: eliminating vibrations at their source is the best way to eliminate noise, vibration, and harshness. Tapes, like 3M Sound Deadening Pads 08840 are designed to stop sound at its source!
Custom Single-Sided PSA Tape Options
Single-sided PSA, regardless of the carrier or pressure sensitive adhesive used, are easy to fabricate into custom parts. These parts feature custom dimensions, unique shapes, and other options that make them specifically tailored to any product or application, decreasing production time and costs while providing the strongest possible bond. Custom PSA tapes allow for a completely consistent application of a pressure sensitive adhesive, eliminating over application or under application that can result in bond failures.
When you work with our team at Engineered Materials, we can customize your PSA tape parts with:
Custom carriers and adhesives: we combine nearly any carrier material with any type of PSA, giving you the environmental resistances and performance capabilities your application requires.
Die cut parts: any shape, size, etc. Can be achieved with die or kiss cutting, no matter how unique.
Nested parts: we can create custom PSA tape parts that are nested on a single roll, giving you a cost-efficient and fast application bonding solution that reduces material waste.
Multi-layer lamination: we can create custom hybrid materials with many capabilities (e.g., insulation tape with PSA tape on one side and shielding foil on the other side, foam tapes with protective wear surface on one side with PSA tape on the other, etc.) Let us know what you need for your application.
Slitting and spooling: we can create any size roll of adhesive tape and other materials to help increase your production productivity. Standard and custom widths and lengths are available.
See our full list of PSA tape customization and fabrication options here.