Like many other human inventions, hybrid adhesives came to be as a reaction to the need or, if you will, a problem that needed to be solved. Generally, in the world of bonding there are two main sides of what adhesives can do. On one side there are instant adhesives, based on cyanoacrylate technology, which are easy to use, bond really fast and are therefore known also in consumer, household use and by do it yourself-ers as the so called super-glue. They have their rightful place also in engineering, due to their safe and simple use, quick curing and high performance on plastics which are nowadays one of the most common materials in industrial use. However, they lack in flexibility and gap filling properties.

On the other end of the scale, are so called structural bonders. In terms of chemistry, they can be epoxy, acrylic, polyurethane, silicone or SMP (silane modified polymer) based. Their strongest traits are, apart from excellent structural performance that gives the range the name, high gap filling properties, excellent performance on metals and environmental durability.

From everything said, it’s fairly obvious that the two ranges of adhesives will be used in practically opposite situations. But naturally, the engineering reality doesn’t always fall into one of these two extremes. There are certainly cases when you might need to fill a small gap, while you still need the adhesive to cure fairly quickly. Plastic does not always get bonded to other plastics, sometimes you need to bond it to a metal or a composite material, and you’ll need your part to be durable and resistant to environmental influences.

This reality is what the chemists in Loctite research & development had in mind when they created the first hybrid adhesive, and later on the entire Universal Bonders range.

Whether you’re looking for an alternative for an epoxy or an acrylic, whether it’s for improving your designs and manufacturing processes or simply in repairs, one of the Universal Bonders is highly likely to fit the bill.