Hot glue is what most people call any hot melt applied with a handheld gun. On a packaging line operators also call the tank adhesive hot glue. It sets fast and fills gaps but has low heat resistance, so hot-glued parts can let go in a hot vehicle or warehouse. Engineers tend to say hot melt in specs.
Just hit the cable clip with hot glue for the prototype, we'll spec a real adhesive for production.
Hot glue is fine for prototypes and fixtures, but a production part that rides in a hot car or sits in a summer warehouse needs an adhesive rated for that heat.
Also heard as
- hot-melt glue
Related terms
Hot melt
A solid thermoplastic adhesive melted in a tank or gun, dispensed hot and set within seconds as it cools.
Angel hair
Fine threads of hot melt that string off the nozzle and drift across machines and products.
Glue
The everyday word for any adhesive, used freely on the floor but avoided in engineering drawings.
Creep
Slow, continuing deformation of an adhesive under a constant load, which can end in failure over time.