Outside the lab, nobody says cyanoacrylate. Assemblers ask for super glue or CA whether they mean a thin wicking grade, a gel or a toughened black grade. The nickname comes from a consumer brand, and engineers use it too when talking to the floor. It always means a one-part adhesive that fixtures in seconds and needs close-fitting parts.
Who took the super glue from station four? I've got a whole tray of grommets to tack.
Also heard as
- CA
- crazy glue
- instant glue
Related terms
Cyanoacrylate
A one-part instant adhesive that cures in seconds when trace moisture on a surface triggers it.
Kick
To gel or cure suddenly, as in a resin kicking in the cup or a CA kicking with accelerator.
Wicking
Describing very thin adhesives that run into already assembled joints by capillary action.
Glue
The everyday word for any adhesive, used freely on the floor but avoided in engineering drawings.