How to Prepare Material for a Strain Gauge Installation

The Do's and Don'ts for Preparing a Successful Installation

Check the table below for a quick overview and suggestions on how to prepare your material for an effective strain gauge installation.

Wood	Pretreatment	Cleaning	Primer	Adhesive	Notice
Wood	Dry grinding with glass or flint paper	Blow off grinding dust with oil and water-free compressed air	-	X60	Wood requires pore-filling adhesive

Rubber	Pretreatment	Cleaning	Primer	Adhesive	Notice
Rubber	Light roughening, emery cloth grain size e.g. 300	Soapy¹⁾ water, rinse with deionized water	-	X60 or Z70	Strain measurements might be problematic due to strain suppression resulting from the reaction force

¹⁾ Soaps used must not contain silicones

Plastics	Pretreatment	Cleaning	Primer	Adhesive	Notice
Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS)	Roughen, emery cloth grain size 220 -300 or plasma treatment with oxygen	Isopropanol or soapy¹ water, rinse with deionized water		Z 70, X 280
Polyimide (PI)	Roughen, emery cloth grain size 220 -300 or plasma treatment with oxygen	RMS 1		Z 70, X 60, X 280 EP 310 N, EP 150
Polyamide imide (PAI)	Roughen, emery cloth grain size 220 -300 or plasma treatment with oxygen	RMS 1		Z 70, X 60, X 280 EP 310 N, EP 150
Polymethyl-methacrylate (PMMA)	Roughen, emery cloth grain size 220 -300 or plasma treatment with oxygen	Isopropanol		Z 70, X 60, X 280	Also only bondable with dichloromethane
Polycarbonate (PC)	Roughen, emery cloth grain size 220 -300 or plasma treatment with oxygen	Isopropanol		Z 70, X 60, X 280	Also only bondable with dichloromethane
Polyamide (PA)	Roughen, emery cloth grain size 220 -300 or plasma treatment with oxygen	RMS 1		Z 70, X 60, X 280	In case of adhesion problems pretreat with hydrogen peroxide
Polypropylene (PP)	Roughen wet, emery cloth grain size 220 -300 and/or plasma treatment with oxygen	RMS 1	Sicomet, Power-Primer 1®	Z 70, X 280	PP is very low-energetic, and as a result exhibits poor adhesion Powerprimer shows good results (without roughening, cleaning only)
Polyethylene (PE)	Roughen wet, emery cloth grain size 220 -300 and/or plasma treatment with oxygen	Isopropanol or soapy¹ water, rinse with deionized water	Sicomet, Power-Primer 1®"	Z 70, X 280	PE is very low-energetic, and as a result exhibits poor adhesion Powerprimer shows good results
Polyvinyl chloride (PVC)	Roughen, emery cloth grain size 220 -300 or plasma treatment with oxygen	Isopropanol or soapy¹ water, rinse with deionized water		Z 70, X 60, X 280	With softener content >50% no permanent adhesion possible
Polyurethane (PUR)	Roughen, emery cloth grain size 220 -300 or plasma treatment with oxygen	Soapy¹ water, rinse with deionized water		Z 70, X 60, X 280
Epoxy resin (EP)	Roughen, emery cloth grain size 220 -300 or plasma treatment with oxygen	RMS 1		Z 70, X 60, X 280
Fluoropolymers (PTFE, FEP, PFA)	Activate surface with Tetra Etch®	Warm water, Acetone		Z 70
Polyvinyl fluoride (PVF)	Roughen, emery cloth grain size 220 -300 or plasma treatment with oxygen	RMS 1		Z 70
Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)	Roughen, emery cloth grain size 220 -300 or plasma treatment with oxygen	RMS 1		Z 70
Polyester (UP)	Roughen, emery cloth grain size 220 -300 or plasma treatment with oxygen	Isopropanol or soapy¹ water, rinse with deionized water		Z 70, X 60, X 280
Polyaryletherketones (PEEK, PEK)	Roughen, emery cloth grain size 220 -300 or plasma treatment with oxygen	RMS 1		Z 70, X 280 EP 310 N, EP 150
Polystyrene (PS)	Roughen, emery cloth grain size 220 -300 or plasma treatment with oxygen	Isopropanol or soapy¹ water, rinse with deionized water		Z 70,
Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS)	Roughen, emery cloth grain size 220 -300 or plasma treatment with oxygen	RMS 1		Z 70, X 280 EP 150, EP 310 N
Polyethersulfone (PES)	Roughen, emery cloth grain size 220 -300 or plasma treatment with oxygen	Isopropanol or soapy¹water, rinse with deionized water		Z 70, X 280 EP 150, EP 310 N
Polysulfone (PSU)	Roughen, emery cloth grain size 220 -300 or plasma treatment with oxygen	Isopropanol or soapy¹ water, rinse with deionized water		Z 70, X 280 EP 150, EP 310 N
Polyoxymethylene (POM)	Plasma treatment with oxygen	Isopropanol or soapy¹ water, rinse with deionized water		Z 70,	Roughening has little effect
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET)	Roughen, emery cloth grain size 220 -300 or plasma treatment with oxygen	Isopropanol or soapy¹ water, rinse with deionized water		Z 70,
Polybutylene terephthalate (PBT)	Roughen, emery cloth grain size 220 -300 or plasma treatment with oxygen	Isopropanol or soapy¹ water, rinse with deionized water		Z 70,
Phenol formaldehyde resin (PF)	Roughen, emery cloth grain size 220 -300 or plasma treatment with oxygen	RMS 1		Z 70, X 60, X 280 EP 310 N, EP 150

Glass	Pretreatment	Cleaning	Primer	Adhesive	Notice
Silicate glass, glazed porcelain, enamel	Degreased glass surface can be bonded directly;roughening or other preparations are not necessary	RMS 1	-	X60 or Z70	-

Fiber-reinforced plastics (Click here for more info)	Pretreatment	Cleaning	Primer	Adhesive	Notice
Carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CRP)	Roughen, emery cloth grain size 220 -300 or plasma treatment with oxygen	Soapy¹⁾ water, rinse with deionized water	-	Z70, X60, X280 depending on resin EP150, EP310N	Do not damage carbon fibers when sanding. Do not use organic solvents for cleaning.
Glass fiber reinforced plastic (GRP)	Roughen, emery cloth grain size 220 -300 or plasma treatment with oxygen	Soapy¹⁾ water, rinse with deionized water	-	Z70, X60, X280 depending on resin EP150, EP310N	Do not damage glass fibers when sanding. Do not use organic solvents for cleaning.

¹⁾ Soaps used must not contain silicones

Concrete (Click here for more info)	Pretreatment	Cleaning	Primer	Adhesive	Notice
Concrete with different grain sizes	Cast with dry molds: remove concrete laitance; Cast with oil molds: oil-soaked layer must be removed;	Blow off grinding dust with oil and water-free compressed air; Degreasing with solvent is not recommended	-	X60	Concrete requires a strong pore-filling adhesive

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