Achieve Durability, Safety and Production Efficiency in Mass Transit Manufacturing

When manufacturing mass transit vehicles including buses and train cars, manufacturers like you face three critical demands:  

• Durability 
• Safety 
• Production efficiency  

These priorities are essential to keeping vehicles in service for extended periods of time, protecting passengers and maintaining cost-effective processes. However, addressing them can be challenging.  

That’s why it’s important to choose the right adhesives and sealants to meet demands across interior and exterior applications. Find out more about these demands, the challenges associated with addressing them and which adhesive and sealant solutions can help. 

Adhesive and Sealant Challenges in Addressing Durability 

Reasons an adhesive or sealant may lack durability can include: 

UV Exposure: 

Prolonged exposure to sunlight in mass transit applications such as windows and panels can degrade adhesives and sealants, causing them to crack, discolor or lose bonding strength.  

Extreme Temperature Fluctuations: 

Mass transit vehicles operate across a wide range of climates. Adhesives and sealants that are unable to remain flexible through these changes can become brittle or fail under thermal stress.  

Constant Vibration and Movement: 

Daily operation causes mass transit vehicles to experience continuous vibration, flexing and shifting. Adhesives and sealants that are unable to absorb these forces may crack or lose adhesion; this can lead to fatigue-related failures, which can compromise safety and increase maintenance costs. 

When designing vehicles that transport large numbers of passengers daily, you likely want to incorporate components, such as adhesives and sealants, that contribute to a safe environment. Additionally, it’s important to consider worker safety during manufacturing as well. 

Adhesive and Sealant Challenges in Addressing Safety 

However, meeting these goals can be challenging, because your adhesives or sealants may not offer: 

Fire Retardancy  

One growing requirement is fire retardancy, especially as OEMs adopt NFPA 130 standards. These standards help slow down the spread of flames, smoke and toxic fumes in the event of a fire, protecting passengers and giving emergency responders more time to act.  

However, few adhesive and sealant options in the market meet NFPA 130 standards, making sourcing compliant solutions a challenge. Additionally, it can mean failing safety audits, losing bids for public transit contracts and compromising passenger safety in emergency situations.  

Formulations Free From Hazardous Chemicals  

It’s possible that adhesives or sealants may contain hazardous chemicals, such as isocyanates. These solutions can make it a challenge to address worker safety demands as a result. They also require you to conduct health testing and safety protocols for workers, which can slow production and increase costs.

Production efficiency is essential to keeping your assembly lines moving with high output and minimal downtime costs. Adhesives and sealants can play a role in your ability to achieve efficiency goals. 

Adhesive and Sealant Challenges in Addressing Efficiencies 

Adhesives or sealants may hinder your efficiency if they have: 

Complex Application Processes 

Adhesives and sealants that require primers, mixing or extensive surface preparation can slow down production, increase the risk of errors and associated rework and costs.  

Lack of Workability  

If an adhesive or sealant doesn’t offer good workability to fix mistakes or reposition, it can be difficult to adjust components accurately during assembly.  

This can result in misalignment, increased rework and wasted materials. Limited workability also slows down production because there is less flexibility to correct mistakes, which can lead to increased labor costs and delays. 

As the adhesive solutions segment of Arkema, Bostik offers: 

• Silyl modified polymer and PU sealants that provide extended durability across numerous applications during a mass transit vehicle’s lifespan. This allows you to simplify processes, because you can use one solution for more than one application. 
  • Our SMP forms a flexible, strong bond that can be used in applications such as windshields, fixed windows, interior panels, exterior joints and flooring applications.  
  • Our PU sealants offer versatile sealing to mass transit applications including panel bonding, flooring and window sealing.
• Bostik’s PLIOGRIP™ structural adhesives are known in the industry, providing reliable bonding  for over 50 years to materials commonly used in composite and dissimilar material bonding application. With acrylic, polyurethane and epoxy technologies available, you can find the right performance needs for exterior mass transit manufacturing.   

When you work with Bostik, you’ll also receive: 

• Extensive technical support: Our Bostik experts will work closely with you, providing product support with in-house testing and on-site visits, helping to increase your efficiency and quickly get you to the right solution for your needs with minimal disruption to your operations.   
• Local manufacturing capabilities: With a portfolio that’s part of the Buy America program, our products and most of their raw materials are produced directly in the U.S., which helps increase ease of access and reduce lead time. It also helps ensure your adhesive and bonding solutions are compliant with North American train track regulations. 
• Broad portfolio: In addition to adhesives and sealants for mass transit manufacturing applications, we offer MRO solutions, such as NEVER-SEEZ® anti-seize and lubricating compounds, to help your equipment operations.  

Are you interested in learning how adhesives and sealants can help you achieve key mass transit demands? Contact a Bostik expert to learn how our portfolio can help you address durability, safety and production efficiency.  

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Transportation & Aerospace Adhesives and Sealants