The Case for 100% Traceability of Adhesive Materials

Our process guarantees meticulous lot-to-lot traceability.

“I’m in the middle of an audit. Can you forward . . . ?”

Traceability is knowing exactly what parts and what lot numbers were used in your assemblies – including the adhesive. To improve traceability, manufacturing companies and suppliers use a combination of documented procedures and tools, such as barcodes, software programs, and automation.

Here at Appli-Tec, we understand the critical importance of traceability, which is why we’ve had 100% traceability for decades.

This means that if you’re ever audited, we can tell you who did what, when, where, and how – and send you the supporting documentation.

By “100%,” we mean we trace everything, beginning when you place your order with us to when it ships out the door.

Your purchase order

All incoming orders are recorded for day, time, person who placed the order, quantity, price, ship date, and any special notifications or requests. All pertinent information is added to our internal job order; this job order travels with the product during manufacturing.

Raw material purchase

We record when material is purchased, who purchased it internally, the customer service person with whom we spoke, the cost, lead time, special requirements, such as MIL Spec or customer spec drawings, and the shipping method.

Manufacturing certifications

We request and keep on file both digital and hard copies of certifications from our various suppliers. Once material has been received and inspected according to our receiving inspection procedures, it’s then released to production.

Lot numbers

We track the lot number of each individual material and record which lot number is used in the products we mix.

Incoming testing, mix, and packaging processes

Barcode labels are affixed to hardener and resin containers; the technician then scans each container prior to starting a mix. If a material isn’t the correct one, the software sounds an alert.

Each syringe is affixed with a GHS compliant label that includes the material information such lot number, storage conditions, and any other customer required descriptors, as well as all of the necessary hazard information for safe handling.

Intermediate and final testing

Each time we fill a syringe or process a mix, we send a witness sample to quality control to confirm the material meets all customer and internal specifications. Some of the testing includes:

• Lap shear
• Shore hardness
• FTIR
• Viscosity
• Glass Transition Temperature (Tg)
• Density
• Porosity
• Shipping

Syringes of adhesives are packaged in dry ice for shipping – and all information, including quantity of syringes, product number, lot number, and package weight, is recorded. A Certificate of Compliance and packing list are attached to the box as well. The shipping manifest includes a barcode for tracking while in transit.

The result of all this attention to detail is this: You get precision-mixed, degassed, and frozen adhesives that are defect-free – every time.

We help you reduce risk and scrap as well as save you time and money. If your component should fail in the field, you’ll know it’s not the adhesive that failed.

If you want defect-free, 100% traceable adhesives for your critical applications, contact Appli-Tec. We are the adhesive processing, mixing and testing experts.

The CEO of Appli-Tec, Tim has over 30 years of experience in the pre-mixed and frozen (PMF) adhesives industry.

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