What is Foam Tape?

Foam tape, as the name suggests, is a type of adhesive tape made by laminating a foam base material with an adhesive. The foam base material is usually made of polyethylene (PE), polyurethane (PU), EVA, etc., which gives the tape its softness, elasticity and cushioning properties. The adhesive determines the bonding strength, temperature resistance, weather resistance and other key properties of the adhesive tape.

Foam tape combines the advantages of both foam and adhesive tape. So, it not only has a strong bonding force, and can firmly adhere to a variety of materials, but also has excellent cushioning and shock absorption properties to protect the adhered object from shock and vibration. In addition, foam tape also has good sealing, sound insulation, heat preservation and insulation, so its application range is more extensive.

Types of Foam Tape

Foam tape can be divided into various types according to the base material, adhesive, structure and other factors:

Categorized by Substrate Material

• PE Foam Tape: It is affordable and suitable for general paste, fixed, sealed and other scenes. It is the most widely used foam tapes.
• PU Foam Tape: With better chemical resistance, weather resistance and aging resistance and other excellent performances, it is suitable for more demanding applications.
• EVA Foam Tape: It has lower density, good flexibility and good resilience. So, eva foam tapes are ideal for areas that require high cushioning performance, such as electronic products, automobile interiors and other.

 Categorized by Adhesive

• Rubber Adhesive: Foam tapes made of rubber adhesive has good initial adhesion, strong bonding force and relatively low price, but will be limited on temperature resistance.
• Acrylic Adhesive: Foam tapes made of acrylic adhesive has good temperature resistance, excellent anti-aging performance and are suitable for high temperature environment or scenes that need to be used for a long time.

Categorized by Structure

• Single Sided Foam Tape: One side is foam substrate, the other side is coated with adhesive. Single sided foam tapes are suitable to paste on a flat surface.
• Double Sided Foam Tape: Both sides are coated with adhesive, suitable to stick on irregular surfaces or scenes where the tape needs to be hidden.

Special Types

• Flame Retardant Foam Tape: Added with flame retardant, flame retardant foam tape has flame retardant and fireproof properties, and is suitable for applications that have a high requirement for fire safety.
• Conductive Foam Tape: Made of conductive material, conductive foam tape has electrically conductive properties and is suitable for shielding and grounding of electronic products.
• High and Low Temperature Foam Tape: It can withstand high or low temperature environments and is suitable for applications under special temperature conditions.

How the Foam Tape is Manufactured?

The production of foam tape is the combination of foam substrate and adhesive compounded together through a special process, and slitting and packaging according to requirements. The production process of foam tape generally includes the following steps:

• Foaming: The foam substrate materials are added to the foaming agent, through heating, pressurization and other ways to make it expand and foam, forming a microporous structure of the foam material.
• Coating: The adhesive will be evenly coated on one or both sides of the foam substrate.
• Laminating: Laminating the adhesive coated foam substrate with release liner for easy use and storage.
• Slitting: Cut the laminated foam tape into rolls or sheets of different sizes according to customer requirements.

The entire production process requires precise control of speed and quality at each stage to ensure the performance of the foam tape.

Foam Tape Applications: Where It Can Be Used? 

With its excellent performance, foam tape is widely used in various industries:

• Electronics Industry: assembly and fixing of electronic products such as cell phones, tablet PCs, laptops, displays, batteries and so on.
• Automotive Industry: body decorations, interior parts, lights, mirrors, license plates and other adhesive and fixed, as well as automotive body sealing, shock absorption and noise reduction.
• Construction Industry: door and window sealing, wall insulation, roof waterproofing, pipe fixing, etc.
• Packaging Industry: product packaging, gift packaging, cushioning and shock absorption.
• Other Industries: medical equipment, household appliances, furniture manufacturing, advertising signs, handicrafts, etc.

How to Choose the Right Foam Tape?

Choosing the right foam tape is critical and requires consideration of the following factors based on the specific application scenario:

• Adhesive Material: Different materials have different surface properties and require a matching adhesive.
• Adhesive Strength: According to the weight and force of the adhesive, choose the right adhesive strength tape.
• Environment: Consider the effect of temperature, humidity, ultraviolet light and other environmental factors on the performance of the tape.
• Other special requirements: such as flame retardancy, electrical conductivity, chemical resistance, etc..

Performance Tests for Foam Tape

In order to ensure the quality and performance of the foam tape, a series of tests need to be carried out, common test items include:

• Peel Strength Test: Tests the force required to peel the tape from the surface to which it is applied, reflecting the adhesive strength of the tape.
• Adhesion Holding Test: Tests the ability of the tape to maintain the bond for a certain period of time and under a certain load, reflecting the durability of the tape.
• Temperature Resistance Test: Tests the ability of an adhesive tape to maintain its performance at high or low temperatures.
• Weathering Test: Tests the tape’s ability to deteriorate under UV rays, rain, humidity and other environmental factors.

For specific applications and test, just contact us to get detailed information.

What’s the Price of Foam Tapes?

Different supplier may offer different price for foam tapes. And the price of foam tape is generally affected by a number of factors:

• Substrate type: PU foam tapes are usually more expensive than PE foam tapes.
• Adhesive type: Acrylic adhesives are usually more expensive than rubber-based adhesives.
• Thickness and Density: The greater the thickness and density, the higher the price.
• Size and dimensions: Specialty foam tapes are usually priced higher than regular sizes.
• Quantity: Buying in bulk usually results in better pricing.
• Suppliers: Pricing strategies and cost control levels vary from supplier to supplier.

If you are interested in knowing our price list, just contact us directly!

Top Manufacturers of Foam Adhesive Tape

The major suppliers in the global foam tape market include:

• 3M: USA

3M is a globally renowned diversified technology enterprise, and its VHB series of foam tapes are well-known for their superb adhesive strength, which are widely used in construction, electronics, transportation and other fields.

• Tesa: Germany

Tesa is a century-old supplier of tapes and adhesive solutions. Its ACX series of foam adhesive tapes are known for their excellent temperature resistance and aging resistance, and are widely used in the automotive and electronics industries.

• Nitto Denko: Japan

Nitto is a world-renowned manufacturer of adhesive tapes and functional materials. Its 5000NS series of foam adhesive tapes are known for their high transparency and weather resistance, and are suitable for bonding glass, acrylic and other materials.

• Avery Dennison: USA

Avery Dennison is a leading global manufacturer of labeling and functional materials. Its foam adhesive tapes cover a wide range of substrates and adhesive types to meet different application needs.

• Scapa: United Kingdom

Scapa is a multinational company specializing in adhesive tapes and solutions for the automotive, medical and electronics industries, with a reputation for high performance and customization.

• Topking：China

TOPKING is a leading Chinese supplier specializing in high quality adhesive tapes and adhesive solutions. Its expertise in special industrial adhesive technologies, advanced production facilities and numerous patents enable TOPKING to provide customized and high-performance products to its customers.

Its foam adhesive tapes are widely used in consumer electronics, automotive, home appliance, household, daily necessities, elevator, construction and other industries due to their excellent performance and reliable quality.

Tips on Foam Tapes Using and Storage

In order to ensure the best performance of the foam tape, the following precautions should be taken:

• Surface Preparation: Clean the surface to be pasted and make sure it is dry, free of oil and dust.
• Adhesive method: Apply pressure evenly to ensure that the tape is in full contact with the surface to be adhered.
• Temperature control: Paste within the appropriate temperature range, too high or too low temperature will affect the bonding effect.
• Avoid stretching: Avoid over-stretching the tape during the adhesive process to avoid affecting the bonding strength.

And, it is also important to pay attention to the storage environment of foam tape.

• Storage environment: Store in a cool, dry and well-ventilated environment, avoid direct sunlight and high temperature.
• Avoid squeezing: Avoid stacking heavy objects to avoid deformation of the tape.
• Shelf life: Pay attention to the shelf life of the tape, after the expiration date, the bonding performance may be reduced.

Foam Tape Market Trends: Eco-Friendly, High Performance and Customization

With the growing awareness of environmental protection, environmentally friendly foam tapes are gradually becoming the mainstream of the market. These tapes are usually made of biodegradable or recyclable materials, which cause less pollution to the environment. In the future, the foam tape market will show environmental protection, high performance and customization of the three major trends.

Environmentally friendly foam tape will occupy a dominant position, at the same time, with high temperature resistance, weather resistance, adhesive strength and other advantages of high-performance products will be more favored by the market. In addition, according to customer demand for customized special specifications, special performance of the foam tape will also become an important trend in the development of the industry.

Why Choose to Buy Foam Tape from China?

China has become one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of foam tapes. With a complete industrial chain, large-scale production and ever-improving manufacturing technology, foam tapes made in China show strong competitiveness in terms of price and quality. Advantages of choosing China foam tape includes:

• Price Advantage: Scale production and efficient supply chain management make the price of China foam tape very competitive.
• Reliable Quality: In recent years, China’s foam tape manufacturing technology has developed rapidly, product quality has reached the international advanced level, and some of the leading brands can even be comparable to internationally recognized brands.
• Strong Supply Capacity: China has a large number of foam tape manufacturers, able to meet the demand for orders of different sizes and delivery deadlines.

At one time, “Made in China” may have meant low price and low quality, but today, China’s foam tape industry is winning more and more recognition from global customers for its ever-improving products and services. And you can follow below tips when buying foam tape from China:

• Choose a well-known brand and pay attention to its market reputation and customer reviews.
• Check whether the product has passed international quality system certifications such as ISO9001.
• Ask for samples for testing to make sure the product performance meets your needs.

Why Choose TOPKING as Your Foam Tape Supplier?

• Extensive product line: We provide a wide range of base materials, adhesives, specifications and performance of foam tapes to meet different customers’ needs.
• Professional technical support: We have an experienced technical team to provide customers with professional selection suggestions and solutions.
• Reliable Quality Assurance: Strict implementation of quality management system, products through the ISO9001 and other international certification.
• Competitive price: With efficient production management and scale advantage, we provide cost-effective foam tape products.
• Excellent customer service: We are committed to providing customers with timely and considerate pre-sales, sales and after-sales service.