Everwide Newsletter No.113

In the field of adhesives, the standard method for evaluating the adhesive strength of materials is to make test pieces and use a tensile machine to obtain the adhesive strength. In the field of coatings and inks, when testing the adhesion of these materials to substrates, it is often indicated by the cross-cut tester experiment. A cross-cut test is to use a blade to divide the ink into one hundred small squares, and then use a specific tape to paste on the one hundred small squares, and then quickly pull it up. Then check the amount of paint pulled up by the tape to determine the adhesion ability. In this experiment, the 5B grade is the best because it means that none of the paint grids are pulled up by the tape. But can materials of 5B grade be able to guarantee the adhesion problem? Based on my experience using mobile phone buttons, this evaluation is only valid for thin coatings, and there are still doubts about the application of thick coatings. Take the photo on the left as an illustration: The film A in the front of the photo is printed with a thin layer of light-curing resin, which meets the requirements of the cross-cut test to reach the level of 5B. At the back of the photo, this resin is thickly pasted on film B (250um) by means of turnover formwork. With such a structure, you can easily peel off the entire KEY by pulling it from the side with your nails. The evaluation of adhesion strength will vary with different applications, different failure modes, and different test principles. Sometimes after discussing multiple inspection methods, we can find the most applicable method and obtain the best quality.

─Author: Assistant R&D Engineer Mr. Yu-Ren，Chen Everwide Chemical

The third factory of Everwide is expected to be available in the middle of this year. In order to let the third factory have the same dense shade as the first and second factories, we applied to the Yunlin County government for seedlings, and were given a total of 50 plants of "Soapberry", "Cinnamon" and "Bamboo Cypress". When these saplings were transported back to the company from the nursery in Dounan, many colleagues laughed: Why are these saplings sent by the county government so small? (The height of the tree is about 1 meter, and the diameter of the tree is about 1 cm.) In fact, young people don't understand that many of the large trees in the factory gardens that are one or two stories tall are small trees allocated by the Forestry Bureau ten years ago. People say: " It takes three generations to make a gentleman." Our Everwide’s "trees" have achieved small results, and I hope that in the future, they will also be recognized as big trees.

When developing soft epoxy resins, the following key points should be paid attention to: (1) In terms of mechanical properties, soft epoxy resin can reduce internal stress and improve thermal shock capability. However, soft epoxy resins have poor performance in repeated flexing, so it is necessary to avoid the application in this case. (2) In terms of application temperature, the application temperature of soft epoxy resin made of non-reactive plasticizer is lower, and the phenomenon of plasticizer volatilization must be prevented, so it is generally suitable for use at room temperature. The application temperature of the soft epoxy resin made by the reactive plasticizer is relatively high, and long-term use below 100°C is mostly no problem. However, temperatures above 150°C may cause aging reactions, which will make the colloid hard, brittle, and darker in color. (3) In terms of formulation compatibility, attention must be paid to the long-term compatibility between non-reactive plasticizers and resins. If the compatibility is not good enough, the non-reactive plasticizer may migrate to the surface of the cured product, causing sweating and pollution. (4) In terms of hardness stability, soft epoxy resins generally have a tendency to gradually increase in hardness. In addition to the above-mentioned increase in hardness due to high application temperature, volatilization of plasticizer, or structural aging, many cases are affected by changes in the reaction rate of the resin. Since the reaction rate of soft epoxy resins is generally slow, often after measuring the hardness of the cured product, the reaction rate slowly increases, which causes problems in evaluating the hardness. Regarding this situation, we can use a slightly higher temperature to accelerate the curing reaction and obtain a more accurate final hardness. We must also let customers understand the reason why the hardness of the soft epoxy resin changes greatly. (5) In terms of material cost, due to the difference between reactive and non-reactive plasticizers, the quality and price of soft epoxy resin on the market are also very different, so in the research and development stage, we should clearly understand the needs of customers and decide the reasonable price.

The word Insanity means crazy. Adding an L in front becomes Linsanity, which means a crazy phenomenon for Jeremy Lin. Jeremy Lin is a recent popular NBA basketball star. The continuous playback of his career, religious beliefs, Taiwanese ancestry, and classic beauty skills on TV has created the myth of Linsanity. I’m not a basketball fan, I have no religious beliefs, I don’t care about his pedigree, and I don’t really believe that the record can last for a long time, but But I am curious about the expression he enjoys playing basketball, and the bracelet he wears called “In Jesus Name I Play”. Many athletes are confident and easy to score goals during practice, but they always make mistakes in the game. Sports stars are different. They can get rid of the tension of the competition, the pressure of shooting, and the shouts of the audience, and they can concentrate on showing their strength. This ability of sports stars needs to be cultivated. Breathing exercises and Indian yoga are said to be good methods, but I think the best way may be to resort to higher levels of religious beliefs. Calvinism in the 16th century: If you are chosen by God, you have the ability to work earnestly to glorify God. We can try to understand that the mental qualities of athletes who buy luxury cars to win bonuses and athletes who only play football must be completely different, and their long-term achievements may also be different. The same point of view can also be used to examine our lives. If we pursue self-interest, we are vulnerable to various blows and become discouraged. The distribution of work, the number of bonuses, and interpersonal relationships in daily life are common conflict points. If we pursue a higher level of faith and work hard for God, it will be easier to ignore all the setbacks and continue to move forward. The concept of "God" is present in all civilizations, sometimes it represents certain gods, and sometimes it can be regarded as an ideal. No matter how you define the content, I believe that with the existence of God, we will not be alone.

─Author: Dr. Ming-Xu Li Everwide Chemical

Thriving 是奮發向上的意思，是永寬的電子報 內文編輯: 李姮蓉 版面設計: 曾文政 電子郵件：service@everwide.com.tw