Henkel LOCTITE AA 3106 UV Light Cure Adhesive for PVC and Polycarbonate

LOCTITE AA 3106 UV Light Cure Adhesive Performance

LOCTITE AA 3106 cures when exposed to ultraviolet or visible light with suitable intensity and spectral output. Because curing begins only after light exposure, operators can dispense the adhesive, position components, inspect alignment, and initiate the cure on demand. This process supports short production cycles in medical-device assembly, plastic fabrication, optical components, electronic modules, appliance parts, and other manufacturing operations.

The uncured material has a typical specific gravity of 1.08, a refractive index of approximately 1.48, and Brookfield viscosity from 3,500 to 7,500 mPa·s at 25°C. Its thixotropic behavior is valuable for vertical surfaces and irregular joints where a low-viscosity adhesive could run away from the required area. The flexible cured structure also improves load distribution and shock absorption across the bond.

Fast Curing and Large-Gap Bonding Applications

Henkel reports fixture time of no more than 15 seconds on glass microscope slides under black-light exposure at 365 nm. For polycarbonate bonded to PVC, fixture time is below five seconds under specified metal-halide or electrodeless systems. Actual cure speed depends on lamp type, wavelength, intensity at the bond line, exposure time, adhesive thickness, joint gap, and substrate light transmission.

Typical applications include PVC tubing assemblies, transparent plastic housings, polycarbonate components, glass-to-plastic joints, ceramic parts, appliance components, medical disposables, and selected metal assemblies. The technical data sheet recommends at least 5 mW/cm² at the bond line, with exposure generally maintained for four to five times the measured fixture time. Exposed surfaces require higher-energy UV output for a dry cure.

7 Benefits of LOCTITE AA 3106 UV Light Cure Adhesive

• Rapid light curing: Supports high-speed production and short handling times.
• One-component processing: Requires no weighing, mixing, or separate hardener.
• Large-gap capability: Suitable for thicker flexible bond lines.
• Thixotropic consistency: Reduces adhesive migration after dispensing.
• Flexible cured joint: Improves shock absorption and load distribution.
• Broad substrate adhesion: Bonds compatible PVC, polycarbonate, glass, ceramics, plastics, and metals.
• Transparent appearance: Supports inspection and clean-looking assemblies.

Mechanical and Electrical Properties

Under Henkel’s specified reference cure, the material provides Shore D hardness of approximately 53, elongation at break of 250%, tensile strength of 18.6 MPa, and tensile modulus of 255 MPa. Published electrical properties include dielectric breakdown strength of 26 kV/mm, surface resistivity of 9.2 × 10¹⁴ ohm-cm, and volume resistivity of 7.7 × 10¹⁴ ohm-cm. Polycarbonate lap-shear testing with a 0.5 mm gap produced approximately 5.2 MPa with substrate failure.

Official testing also reports retained performance after exposure to boiling water, warm-water immersion, isopropanol, heat and humidity, and heat aging under laboratory conditions. Users should still validate actual materials, cleaning processes, fluids, temperature cycles, mechanical loads, and regulatory requirements.

Application, Storage, and Official Resources

Clean bonding surfaces and remove grease, oil, moisture, dust, fingerprints, release agents, and processing residues. Protect uncured material from daylight, UV light, and strong artificial lighting, and use black feed lines or light-blocking equipment. Provide cooling for heat-sensitive thermoplastics and test crystalline or semi-crystalline plastics for stress cracking. Allow finished bonds to cool before service loading.

Store unopened containers in a dry location between 8°C and 21°C. Review the official Henkel LOCTITE AA 3106 product page and the official LOCTITE AA 3106 technical data sheet before production use.

Explore our UV light curing adhesives for additional rapid bonding products. Browse our plastic bonding adhesives for PVC, polycarbonate, acrylic, ABS, and engineered-plastic assembly. Contact our sales team for quotations, package availability, curing-equipment guidance, documents, samples, bulk purchasing, and export support.