Solvent-free hot melt lamination

What lamination is and where it's used

Footwear and leather goods plants laminate linings, reinforcements, textiles and synthetics before cutting or assembling parts. Kyotex publishes uses for its hot melt powders well beyond footwear: lingerie and stretch fabrics, automotive, carpet, bonding PVC to leather, filtration and luggage.

With a solvent-based adhesive, every layer needs drying time. With a hot melt, the adhesive melts, is pressed, and the bond forms as it cools.

Formats for lamination

K Thermo hot melts come in five forms. For lamination, the most common are:

• Film: a continuous layer of adhesive.
• Web: a fine mesh of adhesive fibers.
• Net: an open adhesive mesh.
• Powder: scattered over the material before pressing.

What changes is how the adhesive is distributed across the surface. The right format depends on your materials and your equipment. Granules are also available for other processes.

Powder polymers

The Kyotex hot melt powder range includes TPU, PES, PBS — a biodegradable option — and EVA. Each polymer is chosen for the materials, the process temperature and how the finished product will be used.

Laminating machinery

Kyotex offers automated dispensing and laminating machinery designed to run its adhesive systems at production speed. Adhesive and machine are engineered together, so dispensing, lamination and curing are calibrated as one system. Learn more on our shoe machinery page.

Before you laminate: what to check

• The materials in each layer, and whether they can take heat.
• How flexible or stiff the laminate needs to be.
• The press or laminator you already run.
• Your production volume.

If your materials can't be heated, look at K System pressure-sensitive tape. For the bigger picture, read how to reduce VOC emissions in a shoe factory or request a quote.