Sika as the Customer’s Strategic Partner for Stiffness and Joining Challenges in the Body Shop
Sika’s structural adhesive solutions for bonding metal to metal consists of a variety of technologies. SikaPower® epoxy adhesives enable producers of commercial vehicles to substitute welding with bonded joints. It gets more and more difficult to hire staff for welding jobs. The partial replacement of welded joints, by heat- or room-temperature curing epoxies, helps our customers in automatization and cost optimization projects. Aluminum can easily be joined with steel by using Sika’s adhesive bonding solutions. Welding panels to substructures in the production of buses or off-highway machinery comes along with a significant need for post-treatment for flat surface finish.
Sika’s competence from automotive production and a global network of experts provides you with confidence in the integration of adhesive joints into vehicle bodies. Sika’s full set of material data and support on individual projects enable the smart use of adhesives to join different metals and materials or to streamline the production process. Rely on Sika – starting from the conception phase until production, anywhere in the world.
Sika’s global expertise, combined with the local technical service, provides commercial vehicle manufacturers optimal solutions for individual challenges.
"Sika’s innovative metal adhesive solutions and a full set of calculation data, enable the transportation industry to optimize their body shop and realize weight and cost savings."
Lightweight
Modern vehicle design integrates different materials and lightweight composites with Sika's adhesive technologies. SikaPower® SmartCore adhesives allow lighter vehicles by reducing metal thickness while still meeting strength and durability requirements.
Durability
Connections with SikaPower® SmartCore adhesives can be more durable than welded joints or mechanical fasteners thanks to its unique fatigue performance.
Freedom of Design
Sika's bonding solutions allow joining dissimilar substrates without restrictions. Eliminating the limitations of mechanical fasteners or welding is one of the key reasons why many adhesives are used in industrial manufacturing.
The Combined use of Metal Adhesives with Welding can be the Solution to Increase Stiffness or Eliminate Bottlenecks in Production
The use of new materials, weight reduction requirements, and the shortage of qualified labor are drivers for more extensive use of adhesives in the body shop. Most vehicle producers started replacing steel panels with composite materials a long time ago. However, the steel structure remained welded.
Heat-curing and room-temperature curing SikaPower® epoxy adhesives allow manufacturers of trucks, off-highway machinery and other means of transport, the replacement of spot welds and mechanical fasteners by bonded joints. The combined use of spot welds for initial fixation and SikaPower® epoxies increases the structural stiffness and mechanical strength while enabling fast processing.
Key Features of SikaPower® adhesives toughened by SmartCore:
Exceptional energy absorption capacity
Excellent crack resistance
Superior fatigue performance
Unmatched impact resistance
Sika Metal Adhesive Solutions for any Context and Requirement
Sika offers an extensive portfolio of adhesive solutions to join metals with metals or other materials. From heat-curing epoxy adhesives to two-component structural adhesives based on acrylic, polyurethane and epoxy technologies Sika can provide you with the ideal solution to your challenge.
