| HS Code | 247951 |
| Product Name | 3M 9576R Splicing Tape |
| Manufacturer | 3M |
| Product Type | Repulpable double-coated splicing tape |
| Adhesive Type | Repulpable synthetic rubber |
| Carrier Material | Repulpable tissue |
| Color | White |
| Total Thickness | 4.0 mil (0.10 mm) |
| Liner Material | 60 lb densified kraft paper |
| Adhesion To Steel | 45 oz/in (typical) |
| Tensile Strength | 12 lb/in (typical) |
| Elongation At Break | 5% |
| Operating Temperature Range | -20°F to 200°F (-29°C to 93°C) |
| Repulpability | Yes |
| Core Diameter | 3 in (76.2 mm) |
| Roll Length | 36 yd (33 m) |
| Standard Width | 1 in (25.4 mm) |
As an accredited 3M 9576R Splicing Tape factory, we enforce strict quality protocols—every batch undergoes rigorous testing to ensure consistent efficacy and safety standards.
| Packing | 3M 9576R Splicing Tape is packaged as 1 roll per carton, individually wrapped and labeled with product identification and lot number. |
| Container Loading (20′ FCL) | A 20′ FCL container loaded with 3M 9576R Splicing Tape, securely palletized, protected from moisture, heat, and compression during transport. |
| Shipping | 3M 9576R Splicing Tape is not classified as dangerous goods. It has no UN number, proper shipping name, hazard class, packing group, labels, or marine pollutant designation. Ship as general non-hazardous cargo under DOT, IATA, IMDG, and ADR requirements. |
| Storage | Store 3M 9576R Splicing Tape in its original sealed packaging in a clean, dry, well-ventilated area. Keep away from direct sunlight, heat, moisture, freezing, ignition sources, and incompatible materials. Maintain recommended conditions of 15–30°C and 40–60% relative humidity. Rotate stock and use within the manufacturer’s shelf life, typically 24 months. Follow label and SDS instructions. |
| Shelf Life | Shelf life: 24 months from date of manufacture when stored in original packaging at 70°F (21°C) and 50% RH. |
Cold-set web offset presses and gravure folding-carton unwind units run paper reels at 8–15 m/s, with web tension between 1.0 kN/m and 2.0 kN/m on 900–1,600 mm widths. A zero-speed paster on a 48-page web offset press requires the expiring reel to be butt-spliced to the new reel within 1.5–2.5 s after accumulator discharge. For 3M 9576R, roll preparation on 40–55 g/m² improved newsprint uses a lap of 8–12 mm, with two side-lay strips placed 6 mm from each roll edge. The polyester carrier is cut perpendicular to the reel edge because angular deviation above 1.0 mm across 1,000 mm width causes tail flagging in the blanket unit. After splicing, the web passes through ink units where transient splice caliper above 0.10 mm can cause blanket channel marks. Incoming caliper verification per ASTM D3652/D3652M-20 limits carrier and adhesive thickness to the certificate-of-analysis tolerance of ±5%. Peel adhesion on stainless steel per ASTM D3330/D3330M-04(2010) at 180° and 300 mm/min must remain above the press-specific threshold, typically 12 N/100 mm after 20-min dwell, to survive the paster cycle without opening. The splice tape is not a direct print input, so ISO 12647-2:2013 process control is unaffected, but splice residue transferred to the blanket is detected during wash-up observation and logged under pressroom SOP. End products are retail inserts, direct mail pieces, catalogs, newspapers, and soft-cover books. A limitation is high-solvent blanket wash: contact with aromatic solvent blends above 20% aromatic content should be limited to 2 minutes per wash cycle because published data for 3M 9576R under prolonged solvent immersion is limited.
Label stock converters slit glassine, clay-coated kraft, or polyester release liners at 300–500 m/min on turret rewinders. A butt splice on silicone-coated liner presents a low surface energy surface below 25 dyn/cm, which reduces pressure-sensitive adhesive wet-out. For 3M 9576R, the standard overlap is 6–10 mm for liner caliper under 50 µm and 10–12 mm for 55–62 µm supercalendered glassine. The splice must pass through die-cutting modules where tension spikes reach 3.0–4.5 N/25 mm during matrix stripping. A failed splice at this point deposits liner fragments into the die station and forces line shutdown. The tape is applied manually or by automatic unwind splicers with lateral edge alignment tolerance of ±0.5 mm on 1,200 mm rewind cores. Roll tracking of splices uses barcode databases and automatic optical detection of the polyester carrier edge under high-frequency stroboscopic inspection. End products are pressure-sensitive label face stock, RFID inlay liners, and release liner for double-coated foam tapes. If the splice remains in converted liner intended for food contact packaging, the adhesive components must be evaluated under FDA 21 CFR 175.105 for indirect food contact, and the material supplier must provide a compliance letter because published data for 3M 9576R in this specific configuration may be limited. ISO 22000-certified converters maintain HACCP records for splice detection and reject isolation. Visual detection alone is not sufficient when line speed exceeds 200 m/min.
At the unwind side of a diaper converting line, an expiring spunbond polypropylene roll is butt-spliced to a new roll while a festoon accumulator stores 30–60 m of web. The web tension in the accumulator is 2.0–6.0 N/25 mm for nonwoven basis weights from 14 g/m² to 25 g/m². A single strip of 9576R with an overlap of 8–12 mm is applied perpendicular to the machine direction. The splice must survive passage through an ultrasonic lamination unit at 20–40 kHz and embossing calenders heated to 90–110°C. The polyester carrier should not be exposed to continuous calender contact above 150°C because thermomechanical edge curling may introduce the splice into the finished product. A splice that remains in a diaper leg cuff is treated as foreign material. Automatic vision systems at 400–800 m/min are calibrated with gray-scale contrast between the red polyester carrier and white nonwoven. The relevant control plan is based on EDANA NWSP 110.5.R0 (20) for nonwoven tensile, and the converter applies ISO 2859-1 AQL 0.065 to finished product foreign-matter inspection. End products are baby diapers, sanitary pads, and adult incontinence briefs. For skin-contact articles, any spliced-in material must clear ISO 10993-5 cytotoxicity screening when the manufacturer cannot guarantee complete ejection of splice tabs. Published data for 3M 9576R in long-term skin-contact migration is limited.
Self-adhesive tape converters coat hot-melt acrylic or rubber adhesives onto BOPP, PVC, or polyester film backings at 150–200 m/min. The unwind splice at the coater must not create a step height above 0.10 mm because the doctor blade or slot die gap is set to 0.05–0.08 mm above the web surface. For 3M 9576R, the butt splice uses a 6–10 mm overlap on backing thicknesses below 50 µm and no gap between the old and new web edges. The splice is coated over only when the coater is fitted with a flying splice unwind. Most lines stop at roll change to remove the 9576R tab before coating. If a splice is coated over, the adhesive layer thickness locally increases at the splice and creates a hard band after slitting. Slit rolls with hard bands are re-inspected per ASTM D3759/D3759M-05(2019) tensile and ASTM D3330/D3330M-04(2010) peel. If the splice causes modulus variation above 5%, the affected section is removed. The coating line uses closed-loop tension control at 0.8–1.5 N/mm width, and the splice must maintain 25 N/25 mm tensile force according to the carrier class. End products are BOPP carton sealing tape, pipe-wrap tape, double-coated foam tape, and label face stock. Temperature exposure in the hot-melt coater oven is 120–160°C for 30–120 s. The polyester carrier of 9576R tolerates these conditions, but published data for continuous exposure above 160°C for more than 2 minutes is limited.
| Backing type | Caliper range | Typical splice overlap | Unwind tension range |
|---|---|---|---|
| PET film | 23–50 µm | 6–10 mm | 0.8–1.5 N/mm |
| BOPP film | 15–35 µm | 5–8 mm | 0.5–1.2 N/mm |
| PVC film | 30–80 µm | 8–12 mm | 1.0–2.0 N/mm |
These overlap and tension windows are process validation starting points, not direct product specifications. The converter must confirm the selected values against reel diameter changes because tension at core diameter differs from outer diameter. Automatic unwind splice controls on this type of line use dancer roll feedback with response time under 50 ms. If the splice tape is applied beyond the outer edge by more than 1.5 mm, the coating head trips on edge detection under high-speed digital camera alignment. That specific failure mode is observed on production lines with worn core chucks and inconsistent roll widths.
Automated photovoltaic layup stations use EVA encapsulant rolls 0.45–0.55 mm thick and PET-based backsheet rolls 0.28–0.35 mm thick at widths up to 2,200 mm. Butt splices inserted at roll changeover enter the laminator feed conveyors, where a splice step above 0.15 mm interferes with flat glass alignment pins on stringer lines. For 3M 9576R, an overlap of 6–10 mm on EVA and 5–8 mm on backsheet is common, but line trials determine the final dimension because splice overlaps affect local melt flow during lamination. The vacuum laminator applies 0.9–1.0 atm pressure and 145–150°C solder-platen heat for 12–18 minutes per cycle. If a 9576R splice is left in an EVA layer, gas entrapment around the splice edge is a detected defect during electroluminescence and visual inspection. Module manufacturers classify foreign material after lamination according to internal criteria based on IEC 61215-2:2021. The splice tape must not release silicone or volatile species into the lamination chamber because the vacuum pump oil degrades with organic condensate. For this reason, converter trials include outgassing tests according to the module manufacturer's internal specification, often a 5-hour vacuum bake at 100°C with residual pressure below 10 Pa. Published data for 3M 9576R in long-term PV exposure is limited. Do not allow the splice to cross the cell string busbar area, because local thickness changes above 0.05 mm create micro-cracks in 0.15 mm mono-crystalline wafers during laminator compression. End products are crystalline silicon photovoltaic modules, BIPV laminates, and building-integrated photovoltaic glazing units.
Across 6–12 µm thick aluminium foil unwind stands, a butt splice enters a solventless laminator at 250–450 m/min, where high tension is required to control foil tracking but elongation is almost absent. The polyethylene or polyurethane laminating adhesive is metered through a transfer nip, and any splice step above 0.03 mm creates a visible mark in the finished laminate. For 9576R, the foil splice overlap is reduced to 4–6 mm because thicker overlap shows through after lamination. The tape is applied with a single strip and smoothed by a 80 Shore A silicone-rubber squeeze roll at 0.4–0.6 N/mm contact pressure. The splice is removed at the laminator infeed if the line uses stop-splice operation. If the splice enters the laminating nip, it can tear the transfer roller cover or create a hard crater in the 70–80 Shore A polyurethane nip. Aluminium foil food-contact lamination is governed by FDA 21 CFR 175.105 for adhesive components. The 3M 9576R splicing tape is not typically part of the food-contact layer and is cut out at the rewind inspection station. Failure to remove the splice before slitting produces visible bands in sealable foil lidding and aseptic carton stock. The production line records splice locations by roll meter count and compares that data with automatic optical brightener detection on the rewind slitter. Published data for 3M 9576R under direct contact with solventless lamination adhesives is limited. End products include aseptic carton laminates, blister lidding foil, stand-up pouches, and insulation facing laminates.
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3M 9576R splicing tape is specified as a translucent red polyester film coated on one side with a crosslinked pressure-sensitive silicone adhesive. The construction is intended for splicing silicone-coated papers, release liners, and low-surface-energy polymer films in web converting processes where acrylic or rubber adhesive tapes may show insufficient wet-out, edge lift, or residue transfer. Manufacturer literature lists a total tape thickness of 0.058 mm (2.3 mil), a polyester backing thickness of 0.025 mm (1.0 mil), and a silicone adhesive thickness of 0.033 mm (1.3 mil). The backing is biaxially oriented polyethylene terephthalate, providing dimensional stability under web tension and reducing splice growth during repeated passes through driven nips.
Typical published physical properties for 3M 9576R splicing tape.
| Property | Typical value | Test method |
|---|---|---|
| Total tape thickness | 0.058 mm (2.3 mil) | ASTM D3652/D3652M |
| Backing thickness | 0.025 mm (1.0 mil) | ASTM D3652/D3652M |
| Adhesive thickness | 0.033 mm (1.3 mil) | ASTM D3652/D3652M |
| 180° peel adhesion to stainless steel | 6.9 N/25 mm (25 oz/in) | ASTM D3330/D3330M |
| Tensile strength at break | 438 N/100 mm (25 lb/in) | ASTM D3759/D3759M |
| Elongation at break | 90% | ASTM D3759/D3759M |
| Temperature use range | -51°C to 204°C (-60°F to 400°F) | Manufacturer heat-resistance data |
The polyester carrier and silicone adhesive place 9576R in a different class from polyester tapes using acrylic or rubber adhesives. The silicone adhesive does not require corona treatment or priming of a cured silicone release surface to develop initial handling tack, but its ultimate adhesion to low-energy liners is strongly dependent on applied pressure, dwell time, and the degree of liner cure. The tape is supplied in roll form with a release liner that must be removed without stretching the backing or inducing curl at the splice edges.
The adhesive on 9576R is based on a crosslinked polydimethylsiloxane network containing a silicate resin. Unlike acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesives, which derive peel strength from polar acrylate ester monomers, silicone PSAs wet low-energy surfaces because the siloxane phase has a low solubility parameter and can interact with cured silicone release chemistries. This becomes important when splicing silicone-coated release papers or fluorosilicone liners. An acrylic adhesive can form a weak bond to the release surface and may lift at the unwind accumulator or at zero-speed splicing; a silicone adhesive forms a more tenacious bond to the same low-energy surface without dissolving or swelling the release layer.
The siloxane backbone also resists oxidative degradation at temperatures where many acrylic and rubber adhesives lose shear strength. Manufacturer data for silicone PSAs typically list continuous high-temperature resistance up to 204°C, whereas conventional rubber PSAs are generally limited to 120°C and many high-temperature acrylic splicing tapes to 150°C. This thermal gap affects splice survival in hot laminating nips, thermal drying tunnels, and coating lines where a splice must pass through a short dwell at elevated temperature.
Typical comparative profile of adhesive classes used in splicing tapes.
| Parameter | 9576R silicone PSA | High-temperature acrylic PSA | Rubber PSA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum continuous operating temperature | 204°C | 150°C | 120°C |
| Wetting of cured silicone liner | High; stable after web flexing | Low to moderate; can lift at unwind | Low; cohesive residue possible |
| Overcoating and painting | Not recommended; siloxane transfer risk | Better after surface cleaning | Not recommended |
| Plasticizer resistance | High; low polar interaction | Moderate; softens with ester plasticizers | Low; softens and loses shear |
Compared with 3M 8402 and 3M 8403 polyester splicing tapes, 9576R is positioned as a lower-profile, red-tinted splicing product for release-liner and high-temperature web paths. 3M 8402 is a transparent polyester tape with silicone adhesive; 3M 8403 is a green polyester tape with silicone adhesive and a higher tensile construction. 9576R differs from 8403 in total caliper and visual contrast. The red tint permits splice detection by optical sensors or manual inspection while adding less thickness than a heavily pigmented high-tensile product. It also differs from polyester/acrylic tapes in paintability. Silicone PSAs are not recommended where the splice will be overcoated, painted, or bonded because residual siloxane can interfere with subsequent surface adhesion. The choice between 9576R, 8402, and 8403 therefore depends on whether the process requires low splice profile, high tensile strength, color contrast, or subsequent coating adhesion.
On a narrow-web label converter running silicone-coated release liner at speeds above 150 m/min, splice design often determines whether the web survives a die-cutting station and a matrix stripping roller. The preferred geometry is a butt splice with a web gap of 1 mm or less and the tape centered over the gap. The tape is applied to the release side of the liner so that the polyester backing becomes the exposed surface. A 0.058 mm step adds a caliper discontinuity; high-speed printing and laminating lines can register this step as a bump if the splice passes through a hard nip. When the web path includes a die cutter, the splice is typically moved to a job-change zone or placed on the liner side of a label matrix so that the die does not strike the tape. If the splice must enter a direct thermal printhead, qualification is required because the polyester backing is less compressible than paper and may concentrate printhead pressure at the leading edge.
Application pressure is a critical variable. Published data for this specific configuration is limited, but field practice on narrow-web equipment uses a rubber-covered nip at pressures of 69 kPa to 103 kPa with a dwell time of at least 5 s to achieve adequate wet-out on silicone release papers. Lower pressure or shorter dwell can produce tunneling at the splice edge, particularly when the liner has a low release value or the web is oily. The tape should be applied perpendicular to web travel and burnished at both edges to prevent flagging during high-speed unwind.
The silicone PSA is crosslinked and resists many polar solvents, but it can be swollen by aromatic hydrocarbons such as toluene and xylene and by ketone solvents such as methyl ethyl ketone. A splice exposed to a solvent wash station or solvent wipe can lose edge adhesion if the solvent penetrates through the polyester backing or through the gap in a butt splice. The polyester backing is resistant to many dilute acids and aliphatic hydrocarbons; however, strong alkaline solutions hydrolyze polyethylene terephthalate at elevated temperatures. Chemical resistance of adhesives should be assessed according to ASTM D896, but laboratory data on release-liner splicing tape under dynamic web movement are limited.
Because the adhesive contains low molecular weight siloxane fractions, 9576R is not recommended for use in coating lines where a subsequent optical coating, vacuum deposition, or paint bond requires a pristine surface. Silicone transfer can be detected at low levels by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and may produce a water contact angle above 90° on contaminated substrates. This is a significant operational boundary in cleanroom converting and in medical device assembly where uncontrolled siloxane migration can change surface energy and interfere with bonding or sterilization chemistry.
The product should be stored at 10°C to 27°C and 40% to 60% relative humidity with the roll on its edge in original packaging. Shelf life is typically 24 months from date of manufacture when stored in these conditions. Storage above 30°C can accelerate adhesive crosslinking and reduce tack; storage below 5°C can increase unwind force and promote liner release problems during splice application.
Continuous exposure at 204°C is not equivalent to long-term aging at that temperature. The polyester backing has a glass transition temperature near 70°C and can embrittle under prolonged thermal aging, particularly if the web path imposes repeated flexing over idler rolls. At 204°C, splice survival depends on dwell time, web tension, and oven geometry. In a free-span oven, the polyester backing can shrink if the web path loses tension; if the tape is applied at low elongation, the splice can bridge and lift at the trailing edge. In a hot-nip configuration, the silicone adhesive remains crosslinked and does not flow like a thermoplastic acrylic, but the backing can deform under high nip pressure if the splice enters the nip at elevated temperature. For continuous exposure above 180°C, published data for this specific configuration is limited, and the splice must be qualified on the actual line.
The polyester carrier has a lower elongation than rubber-based splicing tapes. On high-speed rewinders, the splice should be tension-matched to the web because failure is usually initiated in peel at the lap edge rather than by tensile rupture of the tape itself. At web tensions typical of narrow-web converting between 100 N/m and 250 N/m, the tape tensile strength is not the limiting parameter; the leading edge of the splice is the stress concentrator. A butt splice distributes this stress more evenly than an overlap splice. In an overlap splice, the exposed adhesive edge can pick up coating fluid, dust, or matrix waste, and partial delamination can propagate through the splice during winding.
For applications involving direct contact with wet coatings or adhesives, the release characteristics of the silicone adhesive can be either an advantage or a limitation. The same silicone adhesive that permits splicing of release liners can release from non-silicone surfaces under high shear or prolonged load. 9576R is therefore not recommended as a permanent load-bearing attachment for rubber rollers or foam mandrels. The polyester backing can split at the punch points of cross-web perforations if the tape is applied over a sharp edge. When splicing polyester film or release liner at elevated tension, the splice should be positioned away from perforation rows and cross-web score lines to avoid fracture at the stress concentration point.
The interaction of 9576R with corona treatment is another processing boundary. Corona discharge can oxidize the silicone adhesive and generate low molecular weight siloxane species that migrate onto adjacent rollers and webs. If a splice is positioned immediately before a corona treater, siloxane transfer may contaminate downstream rolls and alter surface wettability. Published data for this specific configuration is limited, but the risk is consistent with the known oxidation chemistry of polydimethylsiloxane under plasma or corona exposure. In such lines, the splice should be removed after splicing or protected from direct corona exposure.
These thermal, solvent, and contamination boundaries differentiate 9576R from acrylic splicing tapes and make qualification on the target web mandatory. The selection of 9576R over 3M 8402 or 3M 8403 depends on caliper, color contrast, unwind behavior, and the type of release chemistry encountered in the converting process.