Adhesives | Measurement of Hot Melt Adhesives According to ASTM D3236

A very important characteristic of hot melt adhesives is their viscosity. By determining the apparent viscosity according to ASTM D3236 with a rotational viscometer a high-quality product with a consistent flow behavior can be provided. The rotational viscometer ViscoQC 300 will simplify your quality control work.

Hot melt adhesives (HMAs) are solid formulations like sticks, granules or plates at room temperature. They can be processed upon heating above their softening point, e.g. to +100 °C.

HMAs are used to bond different kinds of materials together like metals, plastics, glass, and wood. Typically, solidification takes only a few seconds to reach full bonding strength. For that reason, HMAs are in use in various industries like packaging, bookbinding, automotive, electronics, textile, and wood industry.

HMAs typically consist of a base material (polymer) and various additives like tackifying resins and waxes. One of the most important properties of HMAs is their melt viscosity. It influences how the product can be applied with e.g. a hot glue gun or roller and the resulting wetting of the surface. To reduce the viscosity of a final product, waxes are added to the formulation.

The viscosity of HMAs is highly temperature-dependent. For that reason, the viscosity must be tested at the application temperature(s). ASTM D3236 describes a test method for quality control of HMA. To measure the apparent viscosity according to this standard a rotational viscometer like the digital viscometer ViscoQC 300 is required. Read the report to learn how to perform a measurement compliant to ASTM D3236 with Anton Paar’s instruments.

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