Help...Jet-Melt 3796 adhesive stick into tight tolerance film

[clinton_woodling]

Currently we create what we call a pancake. We take 3M Jet-melt 3796 (must use this) which comes in a glue stick, and cut into a 1/4inch puck. We put it in between two sheets of PFA plastic sheeting. Then we use 8 tons of pressure in a heated hydrualic press to create a pancake. We have a tight tolerance of .0030 to .0040 inches thick. The hydraulic press has not been accurate enough to perform this task. We throw out 70% of our material. I am trying to find an outside vendor who can take our supply of adhesive and use a different process like roller forming or perhaps even the hydraulic press method if they can get the tolerances correct. Honestly any method will do as long as the tolerances can be reached.

Does anyone know of such a company who would perform this? I have looked everywhere and cannot find one. We can ship within the continental United States, so anywhere in the US would be fine. Please help! Thanks.

[Kelly_Bramble]

First, your request is less technical and more vendor services request. Engineers Edge will not allow vendors to post links, etc.

Second, during these times (pandemic) many organizations are operating minimally though contact is still very possible.

Depending on volume of these pancakes you need, it seems you could design a progressive (several stage) compression two-roller, adjustable machine to create the end item you need. A slicer would be easy enough.

Be aware that when you out-source this manufacturing that vendor will need to build a similar machine to supply you.

Also, have you verified that the hot melt adhesive is not already available in a film?

[clinton_woodling]

Thank you for your reply! I figured this is the manufacturing and process thread, so discussing a manufacturing process was okay. I am not exactly looking for a vendor to answer, just seeing if anyone has used a vendor that does something similar before. We have discussed a roller system but my boss doesn't want to deal with it, and has tasked me with finding an alternate outsourcing solution.

One of the issues is that this particular Jet-Melt 3796 from 3M is discontinued, but we have a massive stock pile of it. It has been rigorously tested for our needs and currently cannot use any alternatives. Unfortunately it only comes in stick form. We also routinely supply funding instrumentation and machinery for our sub-contractors so that should not be an issue. If you know of any suggestions I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks again.