Adhesives are quality products that are manufactured in a reproducible way. Bonding faults in industrial products arise mostly due to adhesive application errors. These faults can be prevented by complying with the DIN 2304 standard "Adhesive bonding technology – Quality requirements for bonding processes" for general industry and the handicrafts sector or the DIN 6701 standard "Manufacture of adhesive bonds on rail vehicles and parts of rail vehicles". These standards aim to manage the organization of the whole bonding process. DIN 6701 applies for all bonded joints, classes of adhesives, and material combinations in the rail vehicle manufacturing industry whereas DIN 2304 applies for all load-bearing bonded joints in other sectors of industry. Both standards represent a paradigm shift for the use of adhesives, putting more responsibility on adhesive users and specifying a binding state-of-the-art in product safety regulation for the correct implementation of bonding processes. They stipulate both the requirements for manufacturing quality bonded joints and the general organizational, contractual and technical-production basis for manufacturing bonded joints.
The standards define three core concepts:
- Classification of bonded joints in accordance with safety requirements
- Appointment of supervisors in charge (SICs) of adhesive bonding work
- Verification: Actual load < Load limit of the bonded joint