How thick is the aluminium tape? Let’s find out together
When used professionally and industrially, the ideal adhesive tape must be weighed up from different points of view. None of us cares about the thickness of tape or duct tape used at home for small projects or makeshift repairs.
Things change when tape is used during applications that need more precision: think, for example, of the thickness of the adhesive tape used at an industrial level to put together internal components, or the adhesive tape used to place carpeting and rungs down firmly.
It is also worth asking yourself how thick aluminium adhesive tape is, to know what the resistance level will be, how easy it will be to position it, and what the possible bulk will be once it is placed.
It should be stressed, however, that while an adhesive tape’s thickness when only one layer is used may be negligible, it is important to think about this aspect at a time when several layers of tape are to be used. An increase of just a few tens of microns could, for example, make the difference when taping a wire which required mire than a few layers.
So, let’s have a look at how often the aluminium of this adhesive tape is, to understand what changes depending on the overall thickness.
A brief introduction of aluminium adhesive tape
Not everyone knows the composition and uses of aluminium adhesive tape. It is therefore worth reminding that this specific type of adhesive tape is used in particular applications, and specifically to carry out repairs and sealing in environments with extreme temperatures or on extremely hot surfaces.
This tape consists, in principle, of two elements. Composing aluminium tape are, in fact, first of all, the metal support, which gives it body and strength.
The adhesive is, instead, found in the lower layer, where there is a mix of glue – typically acrylic adhesives able to withstand high temperatures themselves. In some models of aluminium adhesive tape there is a third element, that is the liner, also called release liner, which protects the adhesive part of the tape until the moment of actual use.
As will be seen soon, the presence or absence of the liner has a direct effect not only on aluminium tape use, but also on its thickness.
The uses of aluminium adhesive tape
In which contexts is aluminium adhesive tape used? Certainly not to seal packages or masking. This special type of professional adhesive tape, characterized, among other things, by a significantly higher price than that of other adhesive tapes, is used in situations where the temperature is significantly higher or lower than normal environmental parameters.
These, then, are temperatures below zero or temperatures above 40 or 50 °C (104, 122 °F), aluminium adhesive tape is a reference point not to be overlooked.
You can use aluminium tape for repairs jobs on your heating or refrigeration systems, to seal pipes in boilers and stoves, to secure splices, or to create an effective moisture barrier in harsh environments.
It is therefore understood that, usually, only professional and people familiar with the techniques regularly purchase this product and, therefore, and that have all the advantage in choosing the aluminium adhesive tape with the most suitable thickness to meet your needs.
The thickness of aluminium adhesive tape
First of all, let’s start from the unit of measurement through which the thickness of aluminium adhesive tape is usually expressed. It is the micrometre, which is a unit of measurement which corresponds to one millionth of a meter and one thousandth of a millimetre.
Many know the micrometeor through the term micron, which is also used to indicate the thousandth of an inch: using that term is therefore possible to create some confusion. The micrometre’s symbol is µm, although the symbol my is often used.
Given this theoretical introduction, let’s have a look at how thick aluminium adhesive tape is. Our adhesive tape with liner (silicone paper), with a width of 50 mm and a length of 50 m (1.9 in x 165 ft), presents a support in natural aluminium equal to 70 my: with these features this adhesive tape can withstand temperatures up to 120 °C (248 °F).
Our liner-free adhesive tape, with the same measurements mentioned above, has a natural aluminium support equal to 90 my and can, in turn, withstand the temperature of 120 °C (248 °F).
Therefore, it is clear that, in order to have an aluminium adhesive tape with the same temperature resistance but without liner, it becomes necessary to significantly increase the thickness. In the case of adhesive tape with 38 mm by 9 m total measurements, is capable of withstanding even higher temperatures, up to 150 °C (302 °F), the thickness increases significantly, reaching 100 my.
