Many adhesives, sealants, and potting materials are packaged in two part side by side cartridges, which are convenient for material application on the production line or in the field. Here, Interonics offers insight into the best methods when using two part cartridges for dispensing applications.
Cartridges don’t require users to measure out materials in the correct ratio, and by adding the manufacturer’s recommended static mixing nozzle, fully mixed and homogeneous material can be dispensed with minimal mess.
Two-part cartridges can be used in handheld, manual or pneumatic application guns, incorporated into simple time/pressure dispensing systems, or taken right up to complete robotic archytas series integrations. These systems can all utilise the same cartridge packaging and mixing nozzle, making production upscaling from manual to fully automated relatively straightforward.
We have a few tips to share to ensure you get the best from your two-part cartridge dispensing process. Intertronics insists that, when it comes to getting the best out of two part cartridges, it’s all in the preparation. The company recommends that the cartridges should be conditioned to ambient temperature, as variations in temperature can have an effect on the viscosity that could lead to process variability if the material is colder or warmer than expected.
At the point of manufacture, every effort is made to produce the cartridge free of air and with correctly apportioned amounts of material in each side. It is still essential that steps are taken to remove any potential remaining entrapped air, and to ensure a balanced flow of both material components from the outlets. During the conditioning phase, cartridges should be kept upright (cap up) to allow any air to rise to the top.
Keeping the cartridge upright, attach it to the applicator, remove the cap, and purge slowly to remove any air and to observe material from both outlets of the cartridge flowing freely and together – a process referred to sometimes as ‘burping’. Attach the static mixing nozzle, and purge once again through the nozzle, closely observing the output for air-free homogeneity – typically discarding the first 1ml – 2ml dispensed.
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