What We Are Seeing in Response to COVID 19 Ventilator and Filter Manufacturing Adhesives
First, we would like to say how proud we are of all of the individuals and companies we have been contacted by tirelessly working to fill the shortage of ventilators and filters around the world. We have been working with engineers, start-ups and established manufacturing companies stepping up to meet the needs of shortages created by coronavirus COVID 19. This includes mask manufacturers, ventilator manufacturers and filter assembly companies.
Here is what we are seeing in terms of adhesive and dispensing needs in recent weeks. We hope this helps stir ideas or point people in the right direction looking to move into producing these types of products.
Hotmelt.com is offering free adhesive and dispensing consultations as well as discounts to COVID 19 related manufacturing projects. Please contact us with questions or for product recommendations.
Ventilator Manufacturing Adhesive Needs
We have talked to a large number of established and start-up ventilator manufacturers over the past few weeks. Here's the products that are coming up most often in working with these companies.
Medical Grade Cyanoacrylates Super Glues
We did a pretty in depth article recently on Medical Grade Cyanoacrylates because they are often use in medical device manufacturing. The short version is that cyanoacrylates are great for med device manufacturing because they cure quickly and after curing enter a safe "plastic state". This makes for fast, safe production.
Like many products during COVID 19, we have had a run recently on medical grade cyanoacrylates. We do have stock and are prioritizing applications using them for COVID 19 related manufacturing. Please note, these products are HazMat but we can ship expedited orders (non-Ground) as long as we are shipping 1LB or less.
Recommended Products
- Medical Grade Cyanoacrylate
- Surface Insensitive Cyanoacrylate (for difficult substrates)
Hot Melts for Ventilator Part Molding
We have had a number of customers looking for ways to quickly create small parts using low pressure molding. We have both a bulk hot melt and glue stick option for this type of application. This is a great way to either create prototypes or final parts on a lower production scale at a low cost.
Recommended Products
- Low pressure molding bulk hot melt
- Low pressure molding hot melt glue sticks
Ventilator and Respirator Filter Manufacturing
With the ongoing ventilator need comes the need for filters used with these ventilators. We have been working with a number of manufacturing companies who have repurposed their equipment and facilities to focus on ventilator filter assembly. Here are the products we have seen work the best for these applications.
Ventilator Filter Potting
Potting a filter without having dedicated and automated system takes a little creativity. We've been leaning on our low pressure molding bulk hot melt again for ventilator filter potting. The most common set up is single or multiple stations using our EasyMelt benchtop and foot pedal system.
Filter Pleating and Core Assembly
We have seen a number of manufacturers in the automotive or industrial filter industry move to ventilator filter manufacturing. Many of these systems have infrastructure in place but it must be modified to work with bulk hot melt.
Because all of these lines are different, we strongly recommend you contact us with these applications. We have both equipment and adhesive engineers on staff who can greatly reduce the transition time and cost of moving to a hot melt filter pleating set-up. We are working with COVID 19 related applications on equipment rental and set-up support to minimize the cost implementation.
New Adhesive and Dispensing Applications Related to COVID 19
We are getting calls and emails daily with new applications regarding COVID 19 related needs. If you have any questions or need product recommendations, we have engineers on call ready to help. We are adhesive and dispensing experts and want to share this knowledge to maximize efficiency and lower costs to all of our valued partners responding to the coronavirus crisis.
We will continue to update Hotmelt.com with any application or product recommendations, tips and general informational help we can in the coming weeks.