ADHESION PROMOTION
Flame Treatment – Advanced Surface Activation for Plastics, Metals, and Glass
Adhesion promotion is essential for ensuring strong, reliable bonding between materials and coatings, adhesives, or inks. Many materials—especially plastics, metals, and glass—have low surface energy or chemical resistance that makes adhesion difficult. Flame treatment is a proven method that modifies surface properties to improve bonding without damaging the underlying material.
By exposing a surface to a controlled gas flame, this process alters its chemical structure—either by increasing surface energy (plastics), promoting oxide formation (metals), or breaking organic barriers (glass). This results in superior adhesion for printing, painting, coating, and bonding applications across multiple industries.
Flame Treatment for Plastics
Plastics like polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), and other low-energy polymers naturally resist bonding. Flame treatment improves adhesion by introducing chemically reactive functional groups onto the surface, increasing the surface energy (Dyne level). This allows adhesives, inks, and coatings to form stronger, more durable bonds.
How It Works
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• The flame generates a high-energy plasma that contains free radicals.
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• These radicals break molecular bonds on the plastic surface and introduce oxygen-containing groups.
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• This chemical change increases the plastic’s affinity for adhesives, paints, and coatings.
Key Benefits for Plastics
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• Enhanced adhesion for inks, coatings, and adhesives.
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• Fast and efficient process suitable for automated production lines.
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• Non-damaging—modifies only the surface while maintaining material integrity.
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• Eco-friendly, requiring no solvents or chemical primers.
Flame treatment is widely used in automotive plastics, packaging, and industrial applications. Our robot-mounted D6 burner system provides a highly controlled treatment process for consistent, repeatable results. Find out more about our plastics industry products and services
Flame Treatment for Metals
Metals, such as aluminium and stainless steel, often require surface activation before bonding, painting, or coating. Flame treatment oxidises the surface, removes organic contaminants, and enhances wetting properties, leading to stronger adhesion.
Key Benefits for Metals
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• Removes oils and surface contaminants without harsh chemicals.
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• Creates a thin, controlled oxide layer to improve paint and adhesive bonding.
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• Reduces defects in coatings and surface finishes.
This method is commonly used in automotive, aerospace, and industrial metal fabrication, ensuring stronger coatings and better corrosion resistance.
Flame Treatment for Glass
Glass surfaces are naturally smooth and chemically resistant, making adhesion a challenge. Flame treatment modifies the glass surface to increase wettability, allowing coatings, paints, and adhesives to bond more effectively.
Key Benefits for Glass
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• Removes residues and organic barriers for better adhesion.
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• Slightly modifies the surface chemistry without affecting transparency.
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• Enables stronger printing and coating durability.
Flame treatment is widely used in architectural glass, automotive glazing, decorative glass printing, and soft drink bottle treatment for labelling and direct printing.​​​
​For wide width applications, including for web processing, our typical burner system is the TRI Flame burner.
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