The key difference between hot melt and acrylic tape is that hot melt is made of thermoplastic polymers, whereas acrylic tape is made of acrylic resins.
The terms hot melt and acrylic tape refer to two different types of adhesive materials. An adhesive material is a substance that can unite or attach surfaces together.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Hot Melt
3. What is Acrylic Tape
4. Hot Melt vs Acrylic Tape in Tabular Form
5. Summary – Hot Melt vs Acrylic Tape
What is Hot Melt?
The term hot melt refers to hot melt adhesive, which is a form of thermoplastic adhesive that is sold commonly as solid cylindrical sticks having various diameters. These are designed to be used as hot glue guns.
This glue gun typically uses a continuous-duty heating element for the melting of plastic glue. This heating element is pushed through the gun by the user either via a mechanical trigger mechanism or using direct finger pressure. Thereafter, the glue tends to squeeze out of the heated nozzle; initially, glue is hot enough to burn our skin. Usually, this glue is sticky when hot, and it can undergo solidification in a few seconds to one minute. Furthermore, we can apply hot melt adhesives by dipping or spraying the glue on surfaces, which is a popular method with hobbyists and crafters in the affixing and resin casting procedures.
Figure 01: Hot Glue Gun
In contrast to solvent-based adhesives, hot melt adhesives provide us with several advantages. For example, this method can reduce or eliminate volatile organic compounds. The drying and curing steps are also eliminated from the process. Further, these adhesives have a long shelf life, and we can even dispose of them without any specific precaution.
A specific property of hot melt adhesives is the melt viscosity; it influences the spread of applied adhesive and also the wetting of the surface. Melt flow index is a value that is nearly proportional to the molecular weight of the base polymer; a high value indicates the easiness of application of the adhesive, but it shows poor mechanical properties.
What is Acrylic Tape?
Acrylic tape is a water- or solvent-based adhesive material. These materials are made through the crosslinking of monomers in order to form polymers having specific properties. Naturally, acrylic tapes or adhesives are tacky, and therefore, many additives are needed during their manufacturing process. Acrylic tapes typically offer a good balance of adhesion, shear and tack properties, resistance to thermal and UV degradation, etc.
The major advantages of using acrylic tape include its superior durability and longevity on polar surfaces, resistance to extreme temperatures, UV light, oxidation and chemicals, colour stability and resistance towards ageing, high level of cohesion, etc.
What is the Difference Between Hot Melt and Acrylic Tape?
The terms hot melt and acrylic tape refer to two different types of adhesive materials. The key difference between hot melt and acrylic tape is that hot melt is made of thermoplastic polymers, whereas acrylic tape is made of acrylic resins. Hot melt has properties like melt viscosity, melt flow index value, etc. while acrylic tape has superior durability and longevity on polar surfaces, resistance to extreme temperatures, UV light, oxidation and chemicals, color stability and resistance towards aging, high level of cohesion, etc.
The following table summarizes the difference between hot melt and acrylic tape.
Summary – Hot Melt vs Acrylic Tape
The terms hot melt and acrylic tape refer to two different types of adhesive materials. An adhesive is a substance that can unite or attach surfaces together. The key difference between hot melt and acrylic tape is that hot melt is made of thermoplastic polymers, whereas acrylic tape is made of acrylic resins.
Reference:
1. “Butyl Tapes VS ACRYLIC Tapes: Know the Difference.” ECHOtape, 9 Jan. 2019.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Stanley-Hot-Glue-Gun-GR35K” By Evan-Amos – Own work (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia