A suite of high-performance, heat-reflective self-adhesive tapes developed by tesa for the automotive industry are now being marketed for protection applications wherever the performance of components could be impaired by radiated heat. Typical market solutions for heat protection include heat shields, sleeves, specially formed robust heavy shields and of course adhesive tape. All these measures offer protection by reflection – they use reflecting materials as a radiation barrier.
A problem with these solutions is that they are often over engineered and therefore potentially expensive for what they do. Sometimes they create hazards too, for example workforce exposure to fibres. Although this health risk can be minimised by wearing masks and protective gloves, it increases costs.
Shields also have to adapt to a wide variety of shapes from wire looms to hoses and curved panels. If they are incorrectly designed they will take longer to fit and can increase assembly times.
Adhesive tape specialist tesa has developed new products that offer cost effective protection from radiated heat. Two innovative tapes, designated tesa 68000 Heat Reflective, are thinner and more flexible than the options mentioned earlier. Supplied in roll form they can be ‘kiss cut’ (die cut on a liner) and offer easy handling without additional conversion costs.
Both grades, tesa PV0 and PV7, are constructed from aluminium foil and glass cloth with a solvent free acrylic adhesive and a transparent red MOPP film liner. Type PV7 features a thin PET fleece outer layer to reduce noise from vibration should the tape come into contact with a body shell or enclosure. Both tapes are highly conformable.