How to choose the right assembly tape?

Adhesive tapes are used for a wide variety of purposes: from professional projects to school work and DIY. Some adhesive products are intended for temporary applications, while others are designed to keep surfaces permanently bonded. But it's important to know how to choose the right tape for any project.

Adhesive tapes often look very similar, but they all have unique properties that make them ideal for specific applications.

To help you make an informed decision about which tape to use, answer these few key questions:

What is the application you want to use it for?
On what surface will the tape be applied? On a rough or smooth, irregular or curved surface?
Will the tape be used indoors or outdoors? Or both? Will it be subjected to extremely hot or cold temperatures?
Will the adhesive come into contact with moisture, water, UV light or chemicals?
Will it have to support any weight?
How long should the tape adhere to the surface? (permanent, removable or repositionable adhesive)

Once you have answered these questions, all you have to do is choose the appropriate adhesive:

Adhesive Transfer Tapes: Whether you need a thin or wide adhesive area, these rolls of pressure sensitive adhesive tape are suitable for machine and hand applications.
Structural Adhesives: Composed of acrylic, epoxy and urethane, these tensile strength adhesives can withstand over 70 kg/cm². They are exceptional for holding metals together in a variety of environments. Resistant to high temperatures and solvents.
Instant adhesives : With their ability to bond in as little as five seconds, these adhesives are exceptional for fine and tight bonding and work especially well on rubbers and plastics.
Hot Melt Adhesives: Composed of thermoplastic resins that dry in seconds, these adhesives are perfect for joining wood and plastic components.
Reactive Polyurethane Adhesives (PUR): Thanks to their thermosetting adhesive properties, PUR products have a pressure of 1000 psi and bond wood and metal components with maximum strength.
Threadlockers: Composed in part of anaerobic adhesives, these products, available in permanent and removable versions, create a hardened bond between metal parts.
VHB (Very High Bonding) adhesives: Often used in place of mechanical fasteners such as rivets, screws and welds, VHB tapes offer optimal bond strength and adapt easily to all types of substrates.
Reclosable fasteners: With hooks and loops, reclosable fasteners are the ideal solution for assemblies and seals that need to be removed and reapplied repeatedly.
Double-sided adhesive tapes: With its double-sided adhesive properties, double-sided tape is ideal for fine glue lines between mounts and backing panels.
Adhesive Sealants: Composed of acrylic, nitrile and polyurethane, adhesive sealants fill gaps along uneven edges and rough surfaces, and also provide flexibility for thermal expansion and contraction between elements.