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How to Spec an EV Bonding or Assembly Part: What to Send H-O for a Quote
A bonding RFQ that names a tape is usually premature; one that names a joint is ready. The difference is the handful of facts that decide whether the part is an acrylic foam tape, a transfer tape, a low-surface-energy system, or a serviceable construction with a pull-tab, and those facts almost all live on your side of the table: the substrates, the load mode, the area, the bondline, and what the service manual will eventually demand.
This is the ten-item checklist the H-O applications team works from, taken from the parent application page's own what-to-send list, plus what engineering does with each item and what happens after you hit send.
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The ten things to send, and what each decides
| Send this | What it decides |
|---|---|
| 1. The job: bond, attach, serviceable, or process aid | The fundamental router. A structural bond, a placement attachment, a joint that must come apart, and a tooling surface are four different parts. |
| 2. Both substrates and any coating | Adhesion is a pair property. Metal-to-paint, plastic-to-plastic, and powder-coat surfaces each move the family; coatings count as the substrate they present. |
| 3. Surface energy (if known) | The low-surface-energy gate: polypropylene, polyethylene, TPO, and some powder coats defeat standard acrylics and route to LSE systems. |
| 4. Load type: shear, peel, cleavage | The mode decides which strength applies. Bonds excel in shear; peel and cleavage at edges are the failure starters, and the footprint is shaped around them. |
| 5. Available bond area | The capacity lever: at a given adhesive strength the joint scales with area, so the area on offer is half the sizing conversation. |
| 6. Bondline: gap fill, thin, or thick | The foam-versus-transfer fork: a viscoelastic core for gaps, tolerance, and vibration; an unsupported film for thin, flat, high-shear lines. |
| 7. Operating temperature and environment | The endurance filter for the adhesive system, checked against the grade's data sheet for your duty. |
| 8. Serviceability / rework need | Whether the joint must come apart cleanly, which trades ultimate strength for controlled removal behavior and adds service features to the die. |
| 9. Bond footprint and service features | The converting plan: footprint, corner radii, pull-tabs, finger lifts, liner presentation, kiss-cut layout. |
| 10. Prototype and annual volume | Method and price structure; prototype quantities through production runs are equally accepted. |
What engineering does with the list
Item 1 routes the request: structural and attachment joints toward coated or uncoated acrylic foam tape, thin flat bondlines toward acrylic transfer tapes and the wider acrylic adhesive family, difficult plastics toward low-surface-energy systems, and tooling jobs toward PTFE-coated fiberglass.
Items 2 and 3 run the substrate gate; items 4 and 5 size the joint, keeping the load in shear and the area generous; item 6 picks the construction; item 7 checks endurance on the data sheet; item 8 adds the controlled-removal requirement and its features; items 9 and 10 set the die, the presentation, and the price.
The reply cites the grade's data sheet and recommends a validation test of your actual joint per the relevant methods (ASTM D1002 / D3163 for lap shear, ASTM D3330 / D903 for peel), because the joint numbers belong to your substrates and preparation, not to the roll.
What happens after you send it
- Drawing review. Typically opened the same business day; the reply is a family direction or the specific missing facts.
- Material direction and quote. Family and grade direction with the TDS attached, footprint and service-feature feedback, and pricing at your quantities.
- Samples. Typically 3 to 5 business days for common die-cut configurations on materials on hand, so the bond can be validated on your real substrates and preparation before tooling.
- Production. Standard production runs about two weeks after drawing approval; special orders are quoted to the job. MOQ varies by material and part.
Documentation available on request: material technical data sheet, certificate of conformance, lot traceability, and first-article inspection, under our ISO 9001:2015 certified quality management system. H-O is a die-cut converter, not a raw-material producer: we do not formulate or coat the tapes and adhesives, and we claim no peel, lap-shear, or adhesion number; the governing value for your joint comes from the data sheet for your substrate and a test of your actual bond.
The mistakes this checklist prevents
| Spec mistake | What it causes | Checklist item that catches it |
|---|---|---|
| Tape named before the job | A permanent system on a joint the service manual opens | Items 1 and 8 |
| One substrate listed | Adhesion is a pair property; the hidden surface fails | Item 2 |
| Polypropylene discovered at validation | A standard acrylic that never wetted the surface | Item 3 |
| Footprint sized to fit, not to load | A marginal joint a larger area would have fixed | Items 4 and 5 |
| Foam core in a tight stack-up | The thickness budget breaks; transfer tape was the part | Item 6 |
| Rework features improvised in the bay | Panel damage at the first repair | Items 8 and 9 |
Frequently asked questions
What if I do not know the surface energy of my substrates?
Say so and name the materials. Surface energy is the gate property, but the substrate names usually answer it: polypropylene, polyethylene, TPO, and some powder coats are the common low-energy offenders, and engineering treats any unknown coating with suspicion until identified. If the surface is genuinely ambiguous, the validation test on the actual substrate settles it, which is one of the reasons samples come before tooling.
Can you quote both a permanent and a serviceable option for the same joint?
Yes, and for service-exposed joints it is often the right request. The two options differ in family, in removal behavior (characterized per ASTM D3330 / D903), and in the die (pull-tabs or stretch-release features on the serviceable version), so quoting both makes the strength-versus-serviceability trade visible at real prices rather than in the abstract.
Does H-O do the bond validation testing?
The joint validation belongs to your program: your substrates, your preparation, your load case, under the cited ASTM methods. What we provide is everything that makes the test meaningful: the grade's data sheet, die-cut samples typically in 3 to 5 business days for common configurations, and converting feedback on the footprint and features. The governing number comes from your test of your joint.
How do process aids get specified, since they have no joint?
By tooling geometry and duty: the heat-seal bar or fixture dimensions, the temperature, the chemicals present, and whether the part should be plain or adhesive-backed so it stays on the tool. PTFE-coated fiberglass is die-cut and slit to those dimensions like any other part; it just never ships in the pack. Include the tooling drawing and the line conditions, and the quote follows the same path.
Send the checklist, get a bonding-part quote
Attach the footprint and as many of the ten items as you have. Drawing review typically starts the same business day.
Samples typically 3 to 5 business days; production about two weeks; MOQ varies by material and part. Expedited service available.
Family-owned in Winsted, Connecticut since 1971 · ISO 9001:2015 certified · OEMs worldwide send us a drawing — and get back their part.
Related reading
Request a quote for your EV bonding & assembly part
Send H-O your drawing or describe the part—engineering reviews every RFQ and converts samples on your geometry.
Last updated · Reviewed by H-O Products engineering (ISO 9001:2015 certified converter, Winsted, CT).
References
- ASTM D1002 and ASTM D3163 (lap-shear strength of bonded metal and rigid-plastic joints).
- ASTM D3330 and ASTM D903 (peel adhesion and stripping strength).
- Manufacturer technical data sheets: coated and uncoated acrylic foam tapes, acrylic transfer tapes and adhesives, low-surface-energy systems, PTFE-coated fiberglass.
This checklist supports a quotation workflow; it does not constitute design guidance for any specific joint, and joint values are properties of your tested bond, substrates, and preparation. Grade-level data is confirmed on the manufacturer's current technical data sheet. All parts are custom manufactured to order; minimum production run quantities vary by material and part. H-O is a die-cut converter, not a raw-material producer.