COVER STORY COMPATIBILITY TEST
F. Ball reveals how its Technical Service Department rigorously tests adhesive and floorcovering compatibility to ensure contractors can rely on the recommendations in its industry-leading Recommended Adhesives Guide.
Every year for over half a century, F. Ball and Co. Ltd. has produced an update of its industry-leading guide to floorcovering-adhesive compatibility, the Recommended Adhesives Guide (RAG®
). The
guide enables contractors to quickly check the compatibility of F. Ball adhesives with over 6,000 branded floorcoverings from more than 200 leading international floorcovering manufacturers, offering the most comprehensive guide to floorcovering-adhesive compatibility available.
The publication is updated each year to include the latest adhesives recommendations for floorcoverings launched by manufacturers over the past 12 months.
But how does it make sure that flooring professionals can rely on its advice that adhesives are compatible with the floorcovering in question and will perform throughout the lifetime of any flooring installation?
EXPERTS IN FLOORING
This is the task of the company’s Technical Service Department, which spends thousands of hours each year rigorously testing the performance of F. Ball adhesives with a vast range of different floorcoverings in controlled conditions at the company’s purpose- built laboratory at its Staffordshire headquarters.
˝Tests are designed to replicate the stresses adhesives face in real life.˝
Criteria for measuring the bond performance of adhesives with floorcoverings is based on BS EN ISO, and the tests measure initial grab, as well as bond performance over time, using state- of-the-art equipment designed to simulate the effects of ageing.
TESTING, TESTING…
‘Shear’ tests measure the ability of an adhesive to resist lateral movement when used to bond a particular floorcovering. This involves using a tensometer, to measure the force required to the floorcovering from the substrate.
The ‘peel’ test also uses a tensometer, but measures the force required to peel the floorcovering away from the substrate at a 90-degree angle.
REAL-LIFE PRESSURES
Tests are also designed to see how bonds stand up to stresses that they are typically exposed to in real life.
For example, the castor chair test assesses the bond performance of particular adhesives with different floorcoverings
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when subjected to the movements of chairs with castor wheels typically encountered in an office environment. The ‘point load’ test is used to see how release bonds perform under loading.
TEMPERATURE CHECK
Specific to vinyl adhesives, a dimensional stability test is carried out to assess an adhesive’s ability to resist the natural shrinkage of vinyl.
For this, samples of a vinyl floorcovering are bonded to a dimensionally stable, rigid substrate and left for several intervals at different temperatures before being measured.
Other dimensional stability tests examine whether an adhesive and floorcovering will stand up to the impact of regular wet cleaning techniques.
STAYING ON THE BALL
With so many adhesive recommendations for floorcoverings made by many different manufacturers from around the world, keeping on top of developments to make sure all of the recommendations are up to date has become a full-time job for F. Ball Liaison Manager, Paul Starkey.
“I maintain close relationships between F. Ball and floorcovering manufacturers, who inform me if they are about to bring a new floorcovering to market so we can test adhesive compatibility and update the RAG® they need,” said Paul.
allowing contractors to get the information
https://f-ball.com
www.tomorrowscontractfloors.co.uk
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