Latest Innovation

Sika®Cleaner S

Vehicle Windshields are produced by various manufacturers all around the world. Throughout the years the industry has developed several different processes to provide cost-effective large volume manufacturing of automotive windshields

One such process involves the use of silicone tubes to evacuate air from the sandwich of two glass sheets and the inner PVB layer. The silicone tubes are placed along the edge of the glass assembly and in many cases are in direct contact with the bonding surface of the ceramic frit.  The final step in this process involves the addition of heat and pressure as the evacuation proceeds.  It is at this point in the process where the silicone tubes have been known to leave silicone oil contamination on the surface of the glass.

These contaminants can affect the ability of an adhesive to achieve a sufficient bond to the surface and may result in an inability of the adhesive to retain the windshield during a car crash. Typical glass cleaners are not able to remove silicone oil and that is why Sika developed Sika® Cleaner S, a special cleaning agent specifically designed for the removal of these silicone contaminants.  Sika recommends using the Sika® Cleaner S whenever an installer encounters silicone residue.

Sika®Aktivator PRO

Sika® Aktivator PRO is a unique pretreatment agent which was specifically developed to meet the requirements of the automotive glass replacement industry. Sika® Aktivator PRO is the first pre-treatment agent for glass replacement that can be used all year round.

This product can be used from -10°C (15°F) to 45°C (120°F), with a required flash off time of 3 minutes.  From -20°C (0°F) to -10°C (15°F), the flash off time is only 10 minutes. As well, this product only requires a Sika® Single Wipe application method which reduces complexity during the installation and leads to a higher quality installations and increased productivity.

The Sika®Click Packaging – Makes working with Sika’s System even easier!

Innovation does not always have to be new product performance; it can also be a new way of packing a product. During the development of Sika®Aktivator PRO, our new pre-treatment agent, designed to meet the needs of the Automotive Aftermarket, Sika also investigated the potential for more user-friendly packaging.

The current packaging consists of two caps and the bottle. Both caps have to be removed before use and then, after use, they must be closed again. With our current Sika® Aktivator Pro cans, installers find them complicated to use correctly, so some of them just use one of the caps. Others open the bottle during the days’ first job and close it in the evening, and there were even some installers that pierced holes into the caps.

As a result, together with Terxo, a Swiss packaging specialist, the Sika® Click Packaging was developed, allowing for opening and closing the cap with only one hand. It still consists of two caps, but the safety cap is only required to keep material from spilling between jobs. The snap lock itself is sufficient to keep the material fresh inside the can. The snap lock can be opened and closed with only one hand, making a click-sound when closed correctly.

Sika also identified that the size of the orifice of our current can is too large to effectively wet a paper tissue when applying Sika® Aktivator Pro. Sika therefore implemented a restrictor into the Sika® Click Packaging that limits the flow of the material and reduces consumption by up to 20 %.

The Sika®Aktivator PRO is the first product that will be sold with the Sika® Click Packaging, with availability beginning April 2009 (availability might depend on location).