H.B. Fuller Company, a global adhesives provider, said it has leveraged its formulating expertise and market knowledge to develop its new patent pending (material and process) PV-RH275 back rail adhesive for solar module manufacturing.
In a release, the company said that PV-RH275 recently passed the critical performance and long-term durability tests of the IEC 61646 standard. H.B. Fuller said it formulated this reactive hot melt adhesive specifically to meet the high performance and lean manufacturing needs of customers in the solar market.
TUV Rheinland ("TUV"), a global provider of technical, safety and certification services, recently conducted the tests of PV-RH275 applied to a customary rectangular (SI_S4) sized module to determine if this new one-part reactive hot melt system meets the standards of IEC 61646. The standards are the established criteria in the international solar industry for testing performance and durability in high heat and humidity conditions, as well as weight resistance in snow and wind. According to testing performed by TUV, PV-RH275 fulfilled the mechanical load test requirements of the IEC 61646: 2008 (loads of 2,400 Pa and 5,400 Pa), following 1,000 hours of damp heat testing at 85 percent relative humidity and 85 degrees C temperature.
"With these test results, the solar industry can be confident that our new reactive hot melt performs in a wide range of the environmental elements," said Ralph Velazquez, business development manager for H.B. Fuller. "As our solar customers are moving more toward the use of adhesives for rail bonding, we focused on developing an innovative, high performance adhesive that would not only address their design needs but also advance their lean manufacturing initiatives."
With fiscal 2009 net revenue of $1.235 billion, H.B. Fuller serves customers in packaging, hygiene, paper converting, general assembly, woodworking, construction, and consumer businesses.