Description
Although AT-8040 adhesive will bond to a wide variety of substrates, its primary strengths are that it is especially good for bonding metals, and its very fast setting, non-sagging formulation allows for near instant placement of items like Weld Mount's heaviest attachments on vertical and overhead surfaces - without any temporary support.
AT-8040's non-sagging formulation, coupled with being extremely fast setting, represents a break-through in adhesive technology, and makes it unlike - and superior to - similar competing adhesives.
Use AT-8040 for immediate metal to metal bonds, as well as metal to fiberglass or plastics, or any combination of these materials.
AT-8040 is so fast and easy to use, and with no mess, that you may find yourself moving away from those goopy adhesives that come in 10 oz cartridges and take hours to set for many of your low-volume, repetitive adhesive applications.
Watch this cool 3 minute video to see the remarkable AT-8040 adhesive in action, as well as for some useful tech tips.
AT-8040 forms tough, high strength bonds - usually with minimal surface preparation - sticking immediately with no need for support, and developing full handling, non-removal strength in about 8-12 minutes (depending on temperature). It reaches a functional cure in about 45 minutes. Colder temperatures result in longer times; do not use below 50°F.
Ultimate strength exceeds 3500 psi of tensile shear strength on aluminum, with remarkable impact and peel strengths.
Weld Mount AT-8040 is a solvent free, VOC-compliant, two part methacrylate-based, structural adhesive formulated to bond metals in severe environments. It will also bond engineered thermo- and thermosetting plastics, and composites to metals or to various substrate combinations.
AT-8040 offers the best combination of strength, speed and price - coupled with non-sagging placements - on the market today.
• Excellent adhesion to metals including aluminum, stainless steel, galvanized steel, and plated steels
• While designed to bond to most substrates, AT-8040 will not bond well to soft rubber, low energy plastics - such as polypropylene and starboard, leather, brass, or bronze; always test for suitability
• Very high strength bonding in both tensile and shear
• Prior to the 8 minute setting time, alcohol or MEK can be used as a solvent for cleaning
• Replaceable cartridge cap for between uses is indexed to prevent cross-contamination with resulting self-sealing
• Recommended temperature range for application is 65°F to 80°F
• Convenient 50 ml size is enough to bond about 75 Weld Mount attachments when used in continuous production work without having to change tips
• ABS certified for use on commercial vessels - see below for details
• Apply using Weld Mount AT-300 Dual Cartridge Applicator Gun; see Accessory Products, below
• 1:1 Mixing ratio; use AT-14 (1:1) plunger in the applicator gun
• AT-8040 should not be mixed by hand
NOTE — This adhesive cartridge does NOT come with a mixing tip for dispensing with a gun. The mixing tip is sold separately.
Use the AT-300 adhesive dispensing gun with an AT-850 mixing tip (both sold separately); see Accessory Products, below.
Storage:
This adhesive has a storage life of 1 year when stored at 40°F. Refrigeration is strongly recommended.
At 72°F, shelf life is about 6 months.
Product at the limit of its shelf life can be tested for viability before you use it - wait 20 or 30 minutes, the mixed adhesive will not set hard if the product is bad. (You will be able to press your fingernail into it.)
A word about the cartridge tip...
AT-8040 adhesive is packaged in a unique cartridge with two discreet tubular nozzles (one for each component) which fit into corresponding receptacles in the specialized AT-850 Mixing Tip. This keeps the components of the adhesvie completely separated until they are actually inside the mixing tube — so there is never any possibility of cross-contamination when the mixing tube is removed between uses, and no possibility of mixed components accidentally curing inside the cartridge tip. This assures that you will never accidentally waste a cartridge.
You can recognize this nozzle style of cartridge by its gray cap — which is indexed and can only be replaced on the cartridge in one orientation, further helping to eliminate the possibility of any cross-contamination.
ABS Certification
Weld Mount AT-8040 adhesive has received PDA Certification (preliminary design analysis) by ABS (American Bureau of Shipping). This certification is required to allow the use of Weld Mount products on commercial ships (carrying passengers), as well as military and other vessels built to ABS standards.
This ABS Certification will allow commercial builders to know with confidence that Weld Mount products are appropriate for installation in their vessels.
Heavy on the technical side...
Weld Mount takes great pride in supplying the finest and most dependable methacrylate adhesives on the market.
The manufacturing of methacrylate adhesives is a complex and sometimes fickle process — getting good results is not always a sure thing. In light of this, and to assure that their adhesives perform as you expect, Weld Mount has implemented extensive quality control practices, both in manufacturing and also including the in-house testing of every single batch before it goes out the door.
Weld Mount stands behind their adhesives to perform as advertised - and have achieved an, essentially, zero failure rate as a result of these efforts.
Attachment Strength
Each Weld Mount attachment fixture is rated for both tensile and shear strength. In use, the acrylic adhesive used to attach the fixture is far stronger than the fixture itself.
In other words, when correctly applied to a properly prepared surface, under extreme loads, the fixture will fail before the adhesive does.
Temperature Sensitivity During Application
The setting and curing process for all methacrylate adhesives is temperature dependent. For every 10 degrees decrease in temperature below 72°F the kick
time doubles. 50 degrees is the lower temperature limit. Below this temperature, the adhesive will not set.
Likewise, for every 10 degree rise in temperature above 72°F, the setting time halves. Plan your work flow accordingly.
Bear in mind that temperature will also affect viscosity during the application process. Lower temperatures will make the uncured adhesive more viscous. Higher temperatures will lower viscosity, making the adhesive more likely to "run", especially at temperatures above 80°F
Temperature Sensitivity When In Service
Like many adhesives including epoxies, methacrylate adhesives soften and fail at very high temperatures. Weld Mount does not recommend using their attachment fixtures in applications where the substrate temperature exceeds 225°F.
UV and Chemical Resistance
Once cured, methacrylate adhesives are amazingly resistant to UV and chemical degradation. More specifically, they are completely resistant to petrochemicals, and can even be installed inside fuel tanks.
Applying to Painted or Gelcoated Surfaces
Weld Mount adhesives stick extremely well to bare fiberglass.
They also stick well to gelcoats but with varying levels of success, depending on the type of gelcoat. Using light capacity (150 lb) fixtures like Weld Mount nylon mounts for wire runs on gelocat is typically fine, but Weld mount doesn’t endorse the use of heavier capacity (1,500 lb) threaded stud mounts for mounting a heavy oil filter, for example, on gelcoats. We always recommend testing on your specific gelcoat before application. (See the relevant Tech Tip, below.)
Weld Mount adhesives stick well to paint, but paint often doesn’t stick well to its substrate. Like the previous example for gelcoats, it depends on the application. For lightweight items like running wires, attaching to a painted surface is usually okay. However, we don't recommend hanging a heavy filter on a painted surface. See below.
Powder coats, however, are great for Weld Mount adhesives because powder coats are well bonded to their substrate. You can attach anything on a powder coat that you would attach to the bare substrate.
Mixing Tips
Unlike the common round mixing tipe you are used to, Weld Mount's special mixing tips have a square cross-section. This shape, and the interior corners it produces, increases "turbulance" during the gunning process - resulting in superior mixing of the adhesive components to ensure consistent results.
Application Tech Tips
• Applying Adhesives to Coated Substrates — When the paint or gelcoat coating on an otherwise acceptable substrate is of dubious quality, many riggers choose to remove the coating in the area under the Weld Mount fixture down to the bare substrate. This can be done neatly by creating a cut-out template of the fixture base out of metal flashing, or even very thin plywood, and using it to protect the surrounding surface during coating removal by sanding or grinding.
• Tip Replacement During Application — Once you start using (gunning) the adhesive, the mixed product in the tip will set in about 4 minutes if not used. For jobs with long (approx. 4 minutes or more) periods of time between adhesive uses, you will either have to replace the tip, or gun the adhesive in the tip onto a piece of cardboard, replacing it with new adhesive to gain an additional 4 minutes of time - thus saving a mixing tip. (By either method you lose an amount of adhesive equivalent to the volume of the tip.) Make sure to have an adequate supply of mixing tips on hand for your projected work flow.
• Clean-Up & Removal — Although low toxicity isopropyl alcohol is the recommended solvent for cleaning uncured adhesive, other common solvents such as acetone or MEK can also be used.
Once the adhesive is cured, it can only be removed mechanically by cutting or grinding, or by heating to approximately 350°F and then scraping it off. Removal by heating is not advisable where there is a danger of damaging or igniting the substrate or nearby materials. Duh...
AT-8040 Bonds:
— Metals:
• Aluminum
• Steel
• Stainless Steel
• Coated Metals
— Thermosets:
• Fiberglass
• Phenolics
• Gelcoats
• Epoxy
• Rim Urethanes
• Polyurethanes
• Liquid Molding Resins
• SMC
— Thermo Plastics:
• Acrylics
• ABS
• Polycarbonates
• Nylons
• PPOs
• Vinyls
• PVC
• Styrene
• Peek
• PBT Blends
• PET Blends
Specifications
804010506000