What is single-sided foam tape used for?
Single-sided foam tapes are suitable for insulation purposes, reducing vibration and blocking noise. All three come from the same property: a foam layer is compressible and full of trapped air, so it fills gaps and absorbs energy rather than passing it on.
Single-sided means adhesive on one face only. The tape is stuck down to one surface and the foam face stays exposed, so it acts as a cushion, gasket or spacer against a second part that presses onto it but is not bonded to it.
It is available in EVA and PE base foams and in a wide range of thicknesses. Where a component has to be bonded rather than cushioned, the group also supplies LKJ® double-sided foam tapes for mounting work.
What is the difference between EVA and PE foam?
Both are closed-cell foams and both are widely used in tape form. EVA stands for ethylene vinyl acetate and PE for polyethylene; they differ mainly in feel and firmness at a given thickness, which changes how a gasket or cushion behaves under load.
Mr.Bond® single-sided foam tapes are available in EVA and PE base foams, so the choice can be made against the application rather than against what happens to be in stock.
Describe the gap you need to fill, the pressure the foam will see, and whether the job is sealing, damping or noise blocking, and the right base foam and thickness will be recommended.
How does foam tape reduce vibration and noise?
Vibration travels through direct contact between rigid parts. Put a compressible layer in the path and some of that energy goes into deforming the foam instead of continuing into the next part. Less energy arriving means less movement and less radiated sound.
Noise blocking works on a related principle: gaps let airborne sound through, and a foam strip along a panel edge or door closes the gap that the noise was using.
The same compressibility is what makes the tape useful for insulation purposes, since trapped air in a closed-cell foam is a poor conductor.
Where are single-sided foam tapes used in HVAC and building work?
Various foam tapes are used in HVAC equipment panels, as a fibre-free insulation alternative, for metal-to-metal seals, gaskets and gap filler, and for wrapping chilled water lines. All four are the same property applied differently: a closed-cell foam strip that compresses into a joint and resists heat flow across it.
The fibre-free point is worth calling out. Where an insulation layer must not shed fibres into an air path or a clean area, a closed-cell foam tape does the insulating job without the fibre that a mineral or glass-wool product brings with it.
In building and fabrication work, single-sided tapes are widely used for fixation of aluminium doors, panels and windows. The foam face takes up the tolerance between an extrusion and its opening, so the frame sits without rattling against the structure.
Single-sided foam tapes are supplied in EVA and PE base foams with hot-melt, solvent and acrylic based adhesive, in a wide range of thicknesses. Where the foam must bond two parts rather than cushion one, the LKJ® EVA double-sided foam tape is the double-stick equivalent.