Feeder pull force is the force required to advance carrier tape through an SMT feeder during indexing. Adhesive shear strength is the adhesive’s ability to resist forces applied parallel to the bonded surfaces.
In SMT splicing, shear strength is far more relevant than peel strength.
During feeding, force is transmitted along the plane of the tape and across splice interfaces. This means the adhesive experiences shear loading, not peeling.
Peel tests apply force perpendicular to the adhesive bond and do not reflect feeder mechanics. As a result, peel strength measurements often overestimate real-world splice reliability.
Shear strength, particularly under dynamic conditions, is the limiting factor in splice performance.
Adhesives optimized for peel strength may fail prematurely when exposed to sustained shear loads and acceleration-induced force spikes.
This mismatch between test metrics and operational demands is a common root cause of unexplained splice failures.
Reliable splice systems prioritize:
These characteristics align with feeder mechanics rather than installation convenience.
