Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Videos
    • Podcasts
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • K Show
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • Notable Leaders in Sustainability
    • Processor of the Year
    • Best Places to Work
    • Women Breaking the Mold
    • Rising Stars
    • Diversity
    • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • Pellets and Politics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics Caps + Closures: A Global Online Event
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Bioplastics Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • PFAS Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Resin Prices
    • Resin Prices Overview
    • Commodity Thermoplastics
    • High Temperature Thermoplastics
    • Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Thermosets
    • Europe - Virgin
    • Europe - Recycled
    • Europe - Feedstock
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
February 16, 2018 01:00 AM

3M tool helps medical device makers find the right adhesive

Catherine Kavanaugh
Senior Reporter
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    3M Inc.
    3M Inc.'s Find My Adhesives website is designed to help medical device makers find the right material.

    Anaheim, Calif. — When it comes to holding a device together or adhering it to someone's skin, adhesives play a crucial role.

    And, with so many choices available, medical designers can, well, come unglued a bit, making the best selection difficult amidst time and cost pressures.

    Enter 3M Co. and its free new website tool: Find My Adhesives.

    The Maplewood, Minn.-based company created an online resource for new and existing customers to identify the right adhesive materials for the job. Based on answers to project-specific questions, the digital tool suggests the best options, which ultimately improves the medical device's chance of success.

    "This is the collective knowledge of our over 55 years in this industry into a tool that's easy to use. It starts conversations online that we can continue with our experts offline," Del Lawson, a laboratory manager in the 3M Critical and Chronic Care division, said at Medical Design & Manufacturing West, held Feb. 6-8 in Anaheim.

    Product designers simply click on topics about a device's materials and purpose to get recommendations. No account needs to be set up. The first question asks if the adhesive will be used for a stick-to-skin device or to hold device components together, or to act as an overlay or device cover. Other questions take into consideration the product user's age — infant, child, adult or elderly — activity level — sedentary, active, average — and body part the adhesive will be contact with — head, face, other.

    For example, based on inputs for a stick-to-skin adhesives to be used with medical devices worn ​ 5-14 days by active adults, the website finds six matches, including a double-sided tape made from a polyethylene film coated with a tackified acrylic adhesive as well as several nonwoven tapes made from rayon, spun lace polyester or perforated ethylene vinyl acetate that are coated with a pressure-sensitive acrylate adhesive.

    3M launched the online tool in January and web traffic to the site has been picking up, said Marcello Napol, global business director of 3M's medical materials and technologies unit, which is part of the health care business group.

    "We monitor utilization of the tool, and it has been way beyond our expectations. We're expecting a lot of conversations as a result," Napol said. "In our experience, the earlier we can connect with prospective partners, the more problems we can avoid down the path. This tool gives them a better avenue to triage things earlier in their design process."

    The medical adhesives and sealant market is growing at an annual rate of 7.9 percent and is expected to surpass $13.3 billion by 2025, according to Coherent Market Insights in Seattle, which says the market was valued at $6.8 billion in 2016.

    The trend toward wearable devices is driving some of the growth.

    "If you look at early generations of continuous glucose monitors as an example, they're big, bulky, heavy, and the adhesion challenges to the skin were immense. Then you'd have performance challenges," Lawson said. "Now as you get into better device design coupled with better software, algorithms and predictability, people can manage their condition more proactively as opposed to measuring on a skin prick level three to four times a day and getting data points. Now you've got a continuous curve with predictability. The device can alert you when you're about to go out of optimum range. You're taking proactive care of yourself, and multiple technology advances have allowed that to happen."

    People who manage diseases like diabetes better on an outpatient basis can improve their quality of life while decreasing health care costs.

    Tony Kaufman, who handles new business ventures for 3M medical materials and technologies, sees some of the trend toward wearables being fueled by consumers wanting to "hack their health."

    "Maybe they have a chronic condition. Maybe they just want to preventative," Kaufman said. "If you have somebody with diabetes and they know an episode is coming on, if they know what triggers that event, they can lead a healthier life. Folks are becoming more invested in how they live, and that's hacking your health."

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Play Mart expanding in Kentucky, adding jobs
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    Ohio PET jar maker closes, auctioning off equipment
    2
    An 8,000-ton dream for Milacron, 20/20 Custom Molded Plastics
    3
    Nova declares force majeure for PE resin at second Ontario site
    4
    Preventing pellet pollution focus of expanded Operation Clean Sweep, congressional push
    5
    PS resin prices continue their climb
    SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Find more newsletters at plasticsnews.com/newsletters.

    You can unsubscribe at any time through links in these emails. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Tire Business
    • Urethanes Technology
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • K Show
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • Notable Leaders in Sustainability
        • Processor of the Year
        • Best Places to Work
        • Women Breaking the Mold
        • Rising Stars
        • Diversity
        • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
      • Newsletters
      • Videos
      • Podcasts
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • Pellets and Politics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics Caps + Closures: A Global Online Event
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Bioplastics Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • PFAS Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Resin Prices
      • Resin Prices Overview
      • Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temperature Thermoplastics
      • Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Recycled Plastics
      • Thermosets
      • Europe - Virgin
      • Europe - Recycled
      • Europe - Feedstock
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified