Glue and other adhesives are difficult to pump because of their sticky consistency and high viscosity. Because of these factors, the glue pumping process requires equipment that provides enough flow and suction to move and dose highly viscous substances easily
What is a glue pump?
There are countless home, commercial, and industrial applications for glue. Organic compounds and chemical-based substances are used to manufacture products ranging from your basic “school glue” to powerful epoxies used for industrial bonding. Our industrial pumps work with all glue consistencies and viscosities to handle a range of glue pumping applications.
Types of glue pumps
Currently, on adhesive production systems, there are many technologies and designs that use many types of pumps to pump glue fluids such as:
– Lobe / star rotor pumps.
– Gear pumps.
– Diaphragm pumps.
– Piston pumps…
In general, pumps belonging to the positive-displacement (volumetric) category are capable of handling this colloidal fluid pumping operation.
Preventing Issues During the Glue Pumping Process
High viscosity substances are notoriously hard to pump; the tacky consistency of glue only adds to the challenge. With the right pump technology and process, however, you can effectively pump glue with minimal issues.
Here are two things to keep in mind during the glue pumping process:
- The higher the viscosity, the harder it is to prime the pump. Applying light heat to the pump lowers the viscosity of glue for easier priming and pumping.
- Any glue left sitting in the pump will adhere to the interior or solidify and cause a blockage. Set glue is not only difficult and time-consuming to remove but can damage pump components. It is crucial to keep your adhesive glue pump moving or clear it out between processes to prevent issues.
The maximum centipoise of glue you can pump depends on a few factors – installation and the pumping technology used. The flow of a Diaphragm Pump will drop off by up to 80% at 20,000 CPS, and will decrease the life of the working parts by up to 50%.
For a Glue Pump handling over 5,000 CPS, we would always recommend using a Lobe Pump, as these are suitable for products upwards of 500,000 CPS. This is based on the way the pump works compared to a Diaphragm Pump.
Application details Glue pump
A typical application of the glue pump is to use the diaphragm pump to pump the glue in the production of packaging. More specifically, this example is described as follows:
For packaging manufacturers, diaphragm pumps are a reliable solution for pumping casein glue. The quality of the materials and the reliability of the operation make diaphragm pumps well suited to addressing complex manufacturing challenges in the packaging production process.
Usually, casein glue is used in the manufacture of cardboard boxes, tubes, and cardboard cases. Glue in the production of packaging plays an important role. For the final product, it is necessary to use casein glue in the most reliable and cost-effective way. Glue can be pumped from drums or IBC tanks to production lines.
Considering that the glue is very viscous – at 20°C its viscosity is 30 – 350 mPas, which makes injecting glue not a simple task. In addition, the structure of casein glue consists of 30–45% dry impurities. To pump this glue efficiently and smoothly, diaphragm pumps with aluminum housings and PTFE membranes (polytetrafluoroethylene, fluoroplast-4) are required.
Only diaphragm pumps can effectively inject the glue into the packaging. Due to the construction of the diaphragm pump, it allows you to pump viscous liquids with impurities and discharge quickly and easily after use.
More specifically, the ball valve and diaphragm, in direct contact with the product, are coated with PTFE, making the parts more resistant to wear.
What kind of glue pump is good?
It can be said that with current pump production technology, there is no pump manufacturer or pump type that is truly superior in all aspects. Therefore, choosing a glue pump is also very difficult.
Mainly, we determine the exact user needs and then look to a reputable supplier or distribution representative for advice.
Why do we need to care about reputable agents? Since they will have a technical team that understands the product, and on the other hand, they provide technical services, so the quality of after-sales service will give us more peace of mind.
In general, there are two special factors that affect the choice of glue pump type, which are the viscosity and temperature described above.
And in Vietnam, there are 02 types of glue pumps that are used regularly, which are:
Diaphragm Pump Glue Pump,
Glue pump gear pump,
With a few reputable companies in the industry such as Tuthill, Blagdon, and especially Finish Thompson with a wide range of products for the chemical industry in general…
If you need advice on glue pumps for your production system, please contact Thái Khương immediately to receive reasonable price support and policy!
