How Cellphone Tape Are Made?

1. How Cellphone Tape Are Made? Cellophane tape consists of a backing to which an adhesive substance is affixed for the purpose of joining materials with a surface bond. Usually, a film of cellulose (a man-made textile fiber produced from plant matter) provides the backing for adherends made from chemically treated petroleum byproducts that create the tape's stickiness. Cellophane tape belongs to a family of adhesives known as pressure sensitive tapes: while other types of adhesives are activated by heat or water, pressure sensitive tapes adhere when only slight pressure is applied. These tapes are marketed primarily in the labeling industry, and include such products as generic cellophane tape, masking tape, packing labels, and, perhaps the best known, transparent tape. Early adhesives—the term denotes any substance used to join discrete materials by forming a surface attachment—was made from natural substances including tree pitch, beeswax, flour paste, and vegetable resins. These primitive glues were used extensively from ancient times through the Middle Ages, when more effective glues made from animal tissues were developed. During the nineteenth century, the introduction of rubber-based adhesives provided a still more effective alternative. Pressure sensitive tapes were discovered during the mid-1800s, as scientists sought new applications for rubber. In 1845, Dr. Horace Day invented a rubber-based pressure sensitive tape for use in surgery. Because rubber possesses limited stickiness, the early adhesive tapes based on Day's invention required supplemental tackifying agents—oils and resins added to enhance adhesion. The first adhesive tape was developed in the early twentieth century, due to a problem in the fledgling automobile industry. During the 1920s, when two-toned cars were popular, manufacturers had problems achieving a clean, crisp line between the two paint finishes. They tried using surgical tape but had problems because it did not form a proper seal and tended to lift off paint when it was removed. Raw Materials While some pressure sensitive tapes are still prepared with natural rubber, the majority are now made using mostly synthetic materials. The backing for cellophane tape usually consists of cellulose acetate, a synthetic derivative of cellulose, which comes from wood pulp or cotton seeds. The cellulose is chemically treated with acetic acid and anhydride, and the side that won't receive an adhesive coating is treated with a release agent that enables the tape to be wound and unwound without sticking together. Although this compound varies among manufacturers, some commonly used substances include stearato chromic chloride and polystearic carbonate. Prior to the application of the adhesive, the adherend side of the backing may be primed with solvent or aqueous dispersions such as nitrile rubber or chlorinated rubber. To produce the final adhesive substance, some manufacturers use as many as 29 raw materials that go through various stages of production. However, the generic adherend is made up of acrylic resins, petroleum byproducts that are broken down into alcohols and acids before being fused into a polymer compound.

2. Quality Control Pressure sensitive tape performance depends on three factors known in the adhesive industry as quick stick, cohesion, and adhesion. These properties must be properly balanced to achieve maximum performance. Quick stick is the tack of the adhesive where it forms an instantaneous bond on contacting another surface. The adhesive must "wet" any surface to which it is applied with only light finger pressure. The second criterion, cohesion, refers to the ability of the adhesive to remain bonded to an object without splitting when lifted away from that object. Pressure sensitive tape performs best with a high cohesive property. The tape's stickiness, or adhesion, is commonly measured by a "peel" test that examines the tape before and after it is applied to a surface and determines how it reacts to pressure and temperature changes.