Cutting pressure-sensitive adhesive tape to specified widths

The reason why tape sticks In order for one object to adhere　to another, it is necessary to bring the objects close together at a molecular level. When two objects are brought close together, an electric force is said to act between the molecules of the respective objects, causing the objects to be attracted to each other. This force is called an “intermolecular force.” But normally, no matter how close two objects are brought together, they will not stick to each other. This is because solids cannot be brought together so close enough on a molecular level　that the molecules attract each other. For the intermolecular force to come into play, the two objects need to come within 3 to 5　Ångstroms (1 Ångstrom is a 10 billionth of a meter) of each other. This distance is no more than one-100 thousandth of the thickness of human hair. How to cleanly remove tape stuck onto an object The advantage of ａｄｈｅｓｉｖｅ　tape is that it can be removed when no longer necessary. PSA tape stuck onto a pillar, a file , or other places at home or office, can be removed relatively easily by slowly pulling it off at an angle of about 30 degrees relative to the still tape-covered surface, although in some cases this may be difficult depending upon how long the tape has been applied and the taped object. ａｄｈｅｓｉｖｅ ｔape can be removed more easily by heating it with a drier before peeling, but in this case the tape may leave a mark on the object on the object. The remaining ａｄｈｅｓｉｖｅ can be removed by repeatedly applying a new piece of ａｄｈｅｓｉｖｅ tape on it and peeling off. Another way is to apply a piece of tissue paper on it and gently rubbing on the paper with a spatula. If it is still difficult to remove the adhesive, wiping it with a piece of cloth moistened with a solvent such as nail polish remover, will make the removal easier. However, this may damage the surface of the object, so first check to see whether or not it is safe to use such solvent on the object. If the ａｄｈｅｓｉｖｅ tape cannot be removed even with a solvent, try rubbing with a sandpaper. Needless to say, this is a last resort. How to remove tape stuck to the human body Generally, the most painless method of removing surgical tape is to slowly pull it off at an angle of about 30 degrees relative to the still tape-covered surface, while holding down the surrounding skin. If the patient is allowed to take a bath, the tape can be removed easily after the patient has bathed and warmed his or her body. Nitto Denko also makes products such as YU-KI BAN® that are designed to enable removal without causing skin damage. We also sell tape- removing products such as sprays made by Nitto Medical Co., Ltd. When the relatively non-irritating liquids in this prodct is allowed to permeate between the adhesive　tape and the skin, the liquid makes it easy to remove the tape. Although the basic method of removing tape is to pull it slowly, there is also a kind of tape that must be pulled off quickly and vigorously. This is hair removal tape. The ａｄｈｅｓｉｖｅ on hair removal tape is special in that it sticks fast to hair on the skin but not to the skin itself. It is applied in the direction of the lie of the hair, and removed by peeling off quickly at an angle of 180 degrees in the direction against the lie of the hair. This is painful, but peeling off the tape slowly will not remove the hair cleanly. To be beautiful, it is necessary to put up with a bit of pain! Tape that ceases to stick when it is no longer needed When we wish to remove ａｄｈｅｓｉｖｅ tape, we pull on it by hand. However, in industry, there is a kind of ａｄｈｅｓｉｖｅ tape that can be removed by eliminating the adhesive strength. This convenient tape sticks firmly in use, and comes off cleanly when it needs to be removed. It is used mainly in electronic component manufacturing lines. In those lines, the components are sometimes mounted on ａｄｈｅｓｉｖｅ tape, and then conveyed and processed. The ａｄｈｅｓｉｖｅ tape is needed in such a process to securely fix the components, but once the process is completed, tape needs to be removed from the components. Because components such as silicon wafers are extremely thin, they may break or sustain damage during removal. Also, because wafers are diced into small pieces, it is extremely troublesome to remove the tape from each piece. For these reasons, ａｄｈｅｓｉｖｅ tape that automatically loses its adhesive strength at removal is used. At present, two methods of eliminating the tape’s adhesive strength have been developed. One involves the use of ultraviolet light (UV). In this method, a substance that cures the ａｄｈｅｓｉｖｅ when exposed to UV is added to the adhesive in advance. When removing the tape, exposing it to UV causes the ａｄｈｅｓｉｖｅ to cure and contract, and the tape to automatically peel away from the components. The other method involves the use of heat. In this method, a substance that causes the ａｄｈｅｓｉｖｅ to swell when it is heated is added to it in advance. When the tape is heated, the ａｄｈｅｓｉｖｅ swells and loses its adhesiveness. Cutting pressure-sensitive adhesive tape to specified widths Aｄｈｅｓｉｖｅ tape comes in various widths, from less than 1 mm to more than 2 m for wide tapes, to accommodate a variety of applications. The basic method of making ａｄｈｅｓｉｖｅ tapes is as follows: First, the substrate film is coated with ａｄｈｅｓｉｖｅ and wound up into a roll. The roll is then cut (sliced) to necessary widths. There is also a cutting method called “slitting”. In this method, film that has been coated with ａｄｈｅｓｉｖｅ is cut to the specified width while being unwound, and then rewound. This method takes time but provides a clean finish for fine-width, double-coated tapes, for example, so it is the standard method used throughout the world. There is also a method which involves coating the film with ａｄｈｅｓｉｖｅ and then directly cutting it to specified widths. This method results in the fastest manufacturing speed. The tape is cut with a special blade for the purpose, and the type, the form, the hardness and the rotational speed of the blade are determined according to the tape.

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