After Twenty Five Years, 3M™ VHB™ Acrylic Foam Tapes Continue To Deliver Improved Productivity, Strong Bonds and Enhanced Aesthetics

Although 3M’s line of VHB Acrylic Foam Tapes turn 25 this year, most consumers on the street have never seen or handled one of these versatile products. The odds are good, however, that every day they see applications that continue to benefit from 3M’s high-performance, double-sided tapes.

For a quarter century, industries worldwide have been using 3M VHB Foam Tape to permanently bond and seal a multitude of substrates. From trucking and rail transportation, to commercial signage, to building and construction, 3M’s tapes have consistently helped manufacturers achieve increased productivity, strong bonds, long-term durability, and improved aesthetics.

“Ever since 3M launched its VHB Tapes twenty five years ago, the product line has evolved its performance profile to meet the demands of new markets and substrates,” said Alain Brenez, 3M’s European market development manager for thick bonding and fastening solutions.

When the company first introduced its unique alternative to rivets, screws and other mechanical fasteners, the primary applications of 3M VHB Tape focused on transportation and signage. Unlike other fasteners, 3M’s technology bonded substrates with a continuous, lightweight viscoelastic seal that proved durable against both shock and weather conditions.

Word quickly spread about 3M’s innovative technology. Soon designers and manufacturers across multiple industries began to explore the benefits of 3M VHB tape, both in their production lines and in the finished goods they manufactured.

Designers in signage and construction, for example, discovered that 3M VHB Tapes helped improve aesthetics by streamlining mechanical fasteners out of their products. The powerful bond of 3M’s tapes also avoided the potential for damage when drilling plastic, glass and other brittle materials.

Manufacturers, meanwhile, found that replacing rivets with 3M VHB Tape could speed assembly and production. 3M’s products formed durable pressure-sensitive bonds without the need for additional steps, such as drilling, grinding, refinishing, screwing, welding or clean-up. Also, the ability to die cut 3M VHB Tapes to fit any shape, size or profile meant that they were ready to use with little training.

Designers and manufacturers alike found that the reduced weight, waterproof bond and dampened vibration enabled by 3M’s VHB Acrylic Foam Tapes transferred all these benefits to end-products such as exterior truck panels, interior paneling in trains, outdoor signage, and building facades.

The original product line was comprised mainly of white tapes that helped improved aesthetics by staying out of sight. In 1988, however, 3M introduced VHB Clear Tape to its product family. Nearly 100 percent transparent, the new product further expanded aesthetic and security benefits for signage, construction and safety glass applications. It’s virtually invisible fastening performance offers an alternative to mechanical fasteners in applications demanding sleek, smooth surfaces.

By the nineties, 3M’s range of VHB Tapes had established a reputation for outstanding performance in every industry where it was used. Despite this, demand increased for tapes that could deliver faster application times, adhere better to a more diverse array of substrates, and form stronger, more durable bonds. Always competitive, designers of outdoor signage strove to add more curves, layered surfaces and illumination schemes to their products, and they also found new substrates to bond. Building and construction had also increased its materials palette, introducing whole new applications such as solar panels.

With these new challenges in mind, 3M developed its Conformable VHB Tape and Structural Bonding Tape products. Designed to flow into surface irregularities with minimal applied pressure, 3M’s Conformable Tape quickly forms a viscoelastic bond on curved, porous materials, and between dissimilar substrates often used in transportation and signage.

Structural Bonding Tape from 3M applies quickly, evenly like standard 3M VHB Tapes. But, when h

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