Introduction: Pressure pads

Page 1 of 2

A number of Micro-Measurements adhesives, including the popular M-Bond AE-10 / 15 epoxy-based system, require the uniform application of pressure during curing. For flat surfaces, silicone rubber pads, such as Micro-Measurements SGP-1 or -2 , can be used in conjunction with a metal back-up plate and some vehicle for load application (dead weight, spring clamps, etc.). With a little more effort, the same approach can sometimes be used on simple curved surfaces (cylinders, pipes, etc.) if the radius of curvature is sufficiently large.

But when surfaces have steep or compound curvatures (like the pipe elbow shown above), custom-shaped conformal pads are usually required to distribute the applied load in a uniform fashion.

RTV silicone rubbers are often used as protective coatings. Some of the more viscous rubbers, including RTV-3145 (but not the thin RTV-3140 ), can also be used to fabricate conformal pressure pads.