(OCA) optically clear adhesives & VHB™ Tapes for bonding display panels

Bonding display panels or optics screens has become a task for engineers in every industry from automotive & aerospace to personal handheld electronics, fitness equipment and kitchen appliances. As technology advances new design challenges evolve to create more aesthetic functional display panels with or without touchscreen capabilities. If you remember the early 2000’s the demand for small compact cell phones were a necessity. Fast forward to 2020 and we are incorporating screen technology in our cars that is bigger than our cell phones.

But what makes screen displays worth buying? From a consumer perspective we focus on appearance, app functionality, and quality depending on the device. OEM screen manufactures and engineers not only have to understand consumer demands but also design screens that are durable to withstand the environments they are used and installed in. Common challenges in the display panel industry include adhesive bond strength, adhesion to narrow bond lines, optically clear adhesives, while limiting material and adhesive waste.

Optically clear adhesive for bonding layers in display panels

3M™ Optically Clear Adhesives- 8211, 8212, 8213, 8214 and 8215 are unique clear free-film bonding adhesives that do not require an adhesive carrier. Optically clear adhesives are contaminant free resulting in improved bubble resistance on glass or plastic film cover laminations exposed to high temperature and high humidity: a common requirement in automotive display screen fabrication. Optical clear adhesives are ideal for LCD flat panel displays, touch screens, transparent graphic overlays, and other devices requiring an optically clear bond.

Why OCA adhesives are ideal for display applications?

• Light transmission >99% when corrected for reflection losses.
• Non-birefringent when removed from carrier film.
• High temperature, humidity, and UV resistance.
• Long term durability without yellowing, delaminating, or degrading.

3M® VHB double side foam tape for display bonding applications  

3M VHB double sided foam tapes are a fast, economical, and durable fastening solution for mounting multiple layers below one display lens; VHB® tape is ultra-thin and its energy absorbing properties provide impact and vibration resistance a common challenge in the automotive display industry. VHB® adhesion technology makes it ideal for a permanent seal against water, moisture, and contaminants.  

Converting solutions to display panel bonding challenges

Multiple display layers below one lens– Different panel layers require different types of adhesive with different aesthetics or levels of adhesion.

Solution– CS Hyde is a 3M® Converter and can source the best performing adhesive for your application. Our in-house converting services enable us to custom slit adhesive rolls, laminate adhesives to plastic film, and provide custom cut parts directly from a .DXF drawing.

Bonding to narrow bond lines– Designing larger display panels with thin housings and narrow bond lines creates a problem for engineers to bond outer cover lenses and internal material layers. This is a main reason why most display panel manufactures opt to using liquid adhesives.

Solution– CS Hyde can custom slit 3M® VHB rolls to required application width. We can also produce custom cut 3M® VHB bonding gaskets to bond and seal to narrow bond lines.

VHB® waste generation– Display panel manufactures commonly utilize liquid adhesives because incorporating 3M® VHB™ foam tapes generate scrap material at a cost. A common example is cover lens gaskets, producing these types of gaskets the outer matrix is utilized while leaving an internal matrix as scrap.

Solution– Utilizing digital knife cutting we can cut parts directly from a .DXF drawing. Engineers can draw their VHB™ gaskets, with nested parts or shapes inside of the internal matrix. This will enable production to utilize the inner VHB™ matrix for other parts associated with fastening or bonding. This can include squares or circles for sensors, or strips for bonding other components within the panel.

Digital Knife Cutting