When every movement must be precise, adhesive solutions that combine process reliability and speed are essential. In special vehicle construction, where vehicles are custom-built, seconds often determine efficiency, quality, and cost-effectiveness. Short cycle times, high variety of variants, and complex material combinations place high demands on the manufacturing process. Compliance with legal standards is another aspect that plays a significant role, especially for safety-relevant vehicles such as fire, police, rescue, rail, utility, military, or expedition vehicles, as these are subject to strict quality and testing obligations. RUDERER KLEBETECHNIK GmbH offers a wide range of high-performance adhesives specifically for special vehicle construction that not only accelerate manufacturing processes but also make them permanently safer and more efficient. Two specialty adhesives have proven particularly effective in special vehicle construction: KÖRAPOP 240 and KÖRAPOP 225. These modern high-performance adhesives come from the KÖRAPOP series of the traditional company Kömmerling, which has been part of the globally operating group H.B. Fuller since 2017. They are perfectly suited for elastic bonding and sealing of covers, floor panels, interior and exterior cladding, as well as roof structures. Since the adhesives meet the high demands in special vehicle construction regarding load capacity, strength, tightness, vibration tolerance, temperature, and humidity resistance, users benefit from maximum planning and design freedom while maintaining high process reliability. The high-performance adhesive SIKAFLEX-268 PowerCure from the Swiss adhesive manufacturer SIKA is also successfully used in special vehicle construction. SIKAFLEX-268 PowerCure was developed with a booster system, allowing the adhesive to cure significantly faster than conventional adhesives, regardless of environmental conditions. In which areas this innovative adhesive is used and why adhesives like SIKAFLEX and KÖRAPOP are now indispensable in modern special vehicle manufacturing will be explained below.
The construction of special vehicles is significantly more complex than that of series vehicles. While traditional series vehicle manufacturing focuses on repeatability and efficiency, special vehicle construction emphasizes individuality and functionality. The technical and structural requirements are tailored to the customer and the respective operating conditions. Compliance with legal standards is another aspect that must be considered, especially in the production of fire, police, rescue, rail, utility, or military vehicles, as these vehicles are subject to strict quality and testing obligations.
More design freedom
Since special vehicle construction often involves the combination of materials such as metals, plastics, composite materials, and lightweight elements, adhesive technology is often the only practical way to effectively and reliably bond different materials together. Modern adhesive systems enable controlled application and open up entirely new design freedoms for users. RUDERER KLEBETECHNIK GmbH offers a wide range of high-performance adhesives specifically for special vehicle construction, which are used particularly in the production of fire, police, and rescue vehicles, agricultural utility vehicles, as well as in sales vehicles, food trucks, trailers, rail vehicles, and much more. In practice, the one-component adhesives and sealants KÖRAPOP 240 and KÖRAPOP 225 from H.B. Fuller, as well as SIKAFLEX-268 PowerCure from SIKA, have consistently shown good results.
KÖRAPOP 240: Dynamic. High-strength. Reliable..
The permanently elastic high-performance adhesives KÖRAPOP 240 and KÖRAPOP 225 guarantee every user process reliability and processing stability. The adhesives are excellent for overhead work, as they can be applied precisely, eliminating the need for reworking. KÖRAPOP 240 has a skin formation time of ten minutes and cures about two to three millimeters within 24 hours. The adhesive is particularly suitable for larger, dynamically stressed bonding surfaces as well as bonding surfaces with complex geometries. KÖRAPOP 240 has proven effective for bonding exterior cladding, side walls, roofs, and floor panels, as well as for bonding spoilers, trims, and handles. KÖRAPOP 240 is also a good choice for sealing windows and doors, direct glazing, or vibration-damping bonds.
For even faster curing, KÖRAPOP 240 can be used as a 2-component variant with a reaction accelerator (booster). This allows curing to occur independently of the ambient humidity. In a mixing ratio of 10:1, boosters such as KÖRACUR 310 N, 310 L, and 310 SL are suitable; in a mixing ratio of 50:1, the booster KÖRACUR 350 can be used. While curing without a booster often takes several hours to days, a process-safe curing with a booster occurs after about 10 to 30 minutes. KÖRAPOP 240 is certified according to the European standard EN 45545-2:2020, meeting the requirements for fire behavior in rail vehicles.
KÖRAPOP 225: the high-tech adhesive for expedition vehicles.
With a skin formation time of 25 minutes, KÖRAPOP 225 offers more leeway for any adjustments and corrections. With three millimeters per 24 hours, the curing speed of KÖRAPOP 225 is similarly fast as that of KÖRAPOP 240. A typical application area for KÖRAPOP 225 is bonding of box structures in expedition vehicles, side cladding in vehicles, box trailers, and bonding seals around light and device hatches.
SIKAFLEX 268 PowerCure: the power booster for outdoor applications.
When bonding window and glass fittings, doors, cladding, facade elements, and outdoor joints exposed to high mechanical and climatic conditions, the reactive one-component polyurethane adhesive SIKAFLEX-268 PowerCure with booster system has proven effective. The innovative PowerCure technology allows for rapid curing. Due to its very good impact and shear resistance, SIKAFLEX-268 PowerCure is a reliable solution for permanent and highly stressed connections in outdoor applications. This high-performance adhesive has been tested according to the European standard EN 45545-2, meeting the requirements of risk classes R1 and R7 as well as the fire behavior class HL3. All bonding in safety-relevant vehicles is subject to strict quality and testing obligations. Not only trained personnel but also the application-specific suitable adhesives are therefore essential. The adhesive experts at RUDERER not only offer high-performance adhesives with excellent adhesion but also first-class customer service. Upon request, the company accompanies special vehicle manufacturers throughout the entire bonding process, including test bonding and aging tests.
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