Afera, the European Adhesive Tape Association, announced today the launch of the Why tape? section of its website dedicated to inspiring design and process engineers with the broad functionality and range of advantages of adhesive tape. Why tape? is a journey of illustration and description of what tape is and how it can be used, its versatility, benefits and ease of application, the diverse markets in which it is used, and what current designers think about it.
Publishing valuable content on tape technology at afera.com/why-tape?
With its forward-looking integrated communications strategy in place, the Association aims to connect with, inspire, educate and most importantly, grow the global market that utilises tapes, which are the multifunctional bonding and fixing solutions of many current and future technologies and products.
“Data consistently tells us that a considerable number of product design and process engineers may not realise that tape could be that integral element that optimises the design and production of their product,” commented Mete Konuralp, Afera President and country manager of tesa Turkey.
“As the heart of the European tape industry, we receive many enquiries from potential customers, and Afera’s member directory gets the most hits of any page on our website,” added Michael Punter, Afera Marketing Committee chairman and managing director of Parafix Tapes & Conversions, Ltd. “We wanted to take that a step further by reaching out to potential customers who don’t yet know about tape as a solution by providing this substantial set of available information.”
Connecting through social media
Afera has already drawn an audience of 3,500 multi-industry mechanical designers to its Design that Sticks: Scanning the Web for Next Product Design Twitter account @_ProductDesign. Why tape? is another step in bringing the awareness of adhesive tape technology to a variety of innovation-focussed industries, such as the electronics, automotive, white goods, building and construction, and medical sectors, which are rethinking how their designs are brought to life.
Adhesive tapes can be virtually weightless and invisible, don’t weaken or fail, and don’t stain or corrode even in extreme conditions. They can also provide functionalities such as sealing, insulating, shielding, conducting electricity and communicating critical information. With tape, products like smart phones and flat screens, cars, appliances, windows and architectural panels, and biomedical electrodes and I.V. dressings, to name a few, can be made thinner, lighter and using fewer and less expensive materials.
“The technical innovation that tapes bring to product design today is amazing,” commented Evert Smit, Afera Technical Committee chairman and head of R&D at Lohmann GmbH & Co. KG. He is also host of the “Why Tapes?” seminar session and presenter of “Made to Stick: A General Introduction to Tapes,” the first lecture of the Association’s upcoming Tape College. “Engineers often turn to traditional fixings, such as rivets, screws, nuts and bolts, staples, clips, needle and thread, and liquid adhesives to join two substrates without the knowledge that they have an often better alternative in tape.”
Adding to engineering education curricula
Afera’s informational outreach also accompanies its current initiative of infusing adhesive tapes and the raw materials of tapes into the curricula of European mechanical engineering and product design higher education programmes. With the support of Mr. Smit and their committees, Mr. Punter is conducting a pilot project through Pearson, the largest technical and professional education awarding body in the U.K., on BTEC apprenticeship qualifications.
Click here to visit Why tape?
Click here to visit Afera’s Twitter page for designers.
Click here to visit Afera’s Twitter page for members.
Click here if you have a question.
