The automated filling of bonded joints – Part 1 two dimensional joints Available to Purchase

A parameter has been identified that can be used to calculate a joint's bond‐line thicknesses. This was successfully represented by a fourth order polynomial expression and has been used to predict the volume of adhesive required to precisely fill structural joints of unknown bond‐line thickness. This technology was further used to automatically control adhesive injection into pre‐assembled vehicle structural joints for use in an automated production environment. This has great advantage over adhesive application prior to joint assembly as the adhesive remains in the joint rather than contaminating the adherend surface and the bond‐line remains filled. This will be of benefit to the automotive industry. The method is adaptable and can be re‐programmed to cope with a number of applications.