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Car driving down the road.

Bonding of Composite Materials: H.B. Fuller puts cars on a weight-loss plan

Posted 06/01/2018 by Rongrong Liu, H.B. Fuller Engineering Adhesives

The three major trends in the automotive industry today are lightweight design, smart technology, and electric vehicles. One of these trends, lightweight designs, is receiving increased attention from the industry as of late. Every inch of a vehicle’s body from its “skeleton" to "muscle" is being scrutinized in an effort to reduce its overall weight. Metal alloys, such as aluminum and magnesium, make the "skeleton" even lighter and tougher. Fiberglass makes the "skin" of the car more pliable and appealing.

What can be used to protect the smooth and firm skin? The answer is adhesives! From exteriors parts of doors, hood, spoiler and hatchbacks to interior components of the dashboard, carpeting, headliner and trunk, each area benefits from the bonding solution offered by adhesives for composite materials.

Introducing H.B. Fuller’s TONSAN 2K PU-TS856

In response to seeing the benefits of bonding composite materials, we formulated TONSAN-branded 2K PU-TS856. TS856 is a two-component, room-temperature-curing, polyurethane structural adhesive with high strength and toughness. Other advantages include excellent adhesion, impact resistance, water resistance, electrical insulation and corrosion resistance. TS856 can be precisely matched to dispensing machines for automated adhesive applications to increase processing speed.

Temperature strength curve

Temperature-Strength Curve  


Tonsan TS856 being dispensed.

 TS856 being dispensed

TS856 can be used for the bonding of composite parts onto the vehicle body, including—SMC-, BMC-, RTM- and FRP-to-metal materials— and bonding car interiors and exteriors, including plastic parts such as PP, PP/LGF, ABS and PET.

Interior of a car front seat and dash.

Good news for car fans

TS856 has gained approval from a prestigious European car brand and was successfully used for the bonding of composite parts on the spoiler of its latest model. H.B. Fuller plans to continue to invest in developing new, innovative adhesive solutions for the automotive market to help make vehicles lighter and more efficient.


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