Fraunhofer Researchers Develop Quick-setting Adhesive Tape for "Prefabricated Houses"

A finished house stands on what just a few days ago was an empty green field. Such a feat is possible thanks to components that are industrially prefabricated in a manufacturing plant for finished parts and then simply need to be assembled on the building site - "prefabricated houses" in other words. The individual wall, ceiling, and roof components are usually made of wood. First, the manufacturers make a frame structure out of squared timber in the plant, onto which they then fit boards made of timber derived materials. Nails and staples hold the structure securely together. However, several considerations must be factored in: the squared timber must not be too narrow, else the nails and staples can break out; also, wherever boards meet, there has to be a rib to which the manufacturer can attach the boards.

Quick-setting adhesive tape

If it were possible to stick these boards and the other timber parts together using adhesive, it would give the building planners a lot more flexibility in component design. Although there are some companies currently using liquid adhesives in construction, this manufacturing technique has not yet become widespread. This is because the process has some drawbacks: for the liquid adhesive to set, you either have to heat the entire board including squared timber or else wait several hours - a time-consuming business that does not fit easily into industrial production processes.

Quick-setting adhesive tape