A few years back, we wrote about the 3M VHB 5906, 5907, and 5908 tapes—all versatile thin VHB foams widely adopted for electronics and assembly. Today, we’re focusing on another important product in the lineup: 3M VHB 5980 tape, which has become a trusted bonding material for touch panels, bezels, and sensitive electronic assemblies.
Construction and Technical Properties
3M VHB 5980 is a double-coated acrylic foam tape consisting of a conformable closed-cell acrylic foam core and a modified acrylic adhesive system. This design provides:
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Adhesion to high and medium surface energy substrates such as aluminum, stainless steel, and plastics commonly used in electronics.
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Conformability – fills in micro-gaps and irregular surfaces, ensuring continuous adhesive contact.
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Dynamic load absorption – distributes stress across the bond line and resists peel, shear, and impact forces.
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Temperature resistance – performs reliably with long-term use up to ~90 °C (194 °F) and short-term peaks near 150 °C (302 °F).
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Durability under cycling – maintains bond integrity through repeated thermal expansion/contraction cycles in devices.
Applications in Electronics
The strength of VHB 5980 lies in its precision performance for electronics and optical devices:
Touch Panels & Displays
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Cover glass bonding: Provides a clean, uniform bond between glass and display modules.
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Bezel attachment: Allows frameless or edge-to-edge glass designs with invisible bond lines.
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Light blocking: Black VHB 5980 minimizes light leakage around the perimeter of displays.
Structural Electronics Assemblies
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Device housings: Secures thin bezels to housings in smartphones, tablets, and infotainment systems.
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Module stacking: Creates reliable multi-layer component bonding without fasteners or clips.
Performance Enhancements
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Vibration damping: Protects delicate circuitry in handheld, wearable, and in-vehicle electronics.
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Environmental sealing: The closed-cell foam helps guard against dust, debris, and moisture ingress.
Comparison to VHB 5906, 5907, and 5908
The 5906, 5907, and 5908 series offer multiple thicknesses of thin VHB foams for general bonding in electronics. VHB 5980, by contrast, is tailored for display integration, and bezel bonding, offering enhanced aesthetics and stability under heat and stress. It is, in effect, the electronics specialist in this product family.
NEDC’s Role in Electronics Cutting
At NEDC, we don’t just supply materials like VHB tapes — we specialize in custom die-cutting, and laser cutting to help manufacturers integrate these tapes seamlessly into their designs.
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Precision die-cutting: Produces repeatable shapes, apertures, and outlines for bezels, touch panels, and housing assemblies.
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Laser cutting: Ensures intricate geometries and tight tolerance requirements for compact electronics.
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Electronics focus: A significant portion of our cutting work supports electronics-based industries, where slim, reliable, and consistent adhesives are critical for product performance.
By converting VHB 5980 into exact shapes that match customer assemblies, NEDC enables OEMs to accelerate production, improve consistency, and reduce manual trimming or secondary processes.
Why Designers Choose VHB 5980 with NEDC
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Thin, strong, and invisible bond lines that enhance product design.
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Vibration and environmental resilience for long-term durability.
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Custom-cut solutions from NEDC that ensure efficient integration into high-volume or high-precision assemblies.
When combined with NEDC’s die-cutting and laser cutting capabilities, VHB 5980 becomes more than just tape — it becomes a manufacturing solution for next-gen electronics.