Adhesive bonding
Your bonded joints, certified for Europe
If your product carries a structural adhesive, there is a European standard behind it and a customer who will eventually ask for it. We take you through certification and we measure, in our own laboratory, what your joint really withstands.
Tell us your case Two ways inTwo ways in
Where you manufacture changes what you need from us. Start with the one that describes you.
European suppliers
Your customer has asked for EN 17460, or will. We take you from wherever you are to an audit you can pass, and we produce the test evidence ourselves instead of subcontracting it.
- Classification of every bonded joint by consequence of failure
- Bonding instructions and process qualification with real test data
- External Adhesive Bonding Coordinator, which the standard expressly allows
- We attend the audit with you and close the non-conformities
Exporters into the EU
The European standard is open to you: nothing in EN 17460 restricts certification to European companies. What you are missing is not eligibility — it is a technical counterpart inside Europe.
- The certificate is bound to your plant, wherever it is. The audit happens there
- The Bonding Coordinator may be external and based in Europe. That can be us
- Test reports issued in Europe, in the language and format your customer expects
- We speak to your European customer’s quality department on your behalf
The standards that apply
Structural bonding stopped being a workshop matter. It is now a standardised, auditable and certifiable process — and the two German standards most of the sector still quotes are no longer the reference.
DIN 6701 is gone. DIN 2304-1 has an expiry date.
DIN 6701, the German rail bonding standard, has been replaced by EN 17460. The coexistence phase ended in September 2025: since October 2025 certification bodies work on EN 17460 only.
DIN 2304-1 has been replaced by EN ISO 21368. Here the coexistence phase ends on 31 August 2026. If your certificate is still DIN 2304-1, check that date.
The full map
These are the references we work to, and the ones we take you through.
Bonding process quality
- EN 17460:2022 — Railway applications. Adhesive bonding of rail vehicles and their components. Classes A1, A2, A3 and Z
- EN ISO 21368:2023 — Guidelines for adhesively bonded structures. Safety classes S1 to S4
- DIN 2304-2:2024 — bonding in shipbuilding. Still current as a German standard
- ISO 9001:2015, clause 8.5.1 f) — validation of processes whose output cannot be verified by subsequent inspection
Mechanical testing of the joint
- EN 1465 · ISO 4587 · ASTM D1002 · ASTM D3163 — single-lap shear
- ISO 11339:2022 — T-peel
- EN 1464 · ISO 4578 — floating-roller peel
- ISO 25217 — mode I adhesive fracture energy (DCB and TDCB)
- EN 15870 · ISO 6922 — tensile strength of butt joints
- ISO 10365:2022 — designation of main failure patterns
Thermal behaviour and ageing
- ISO 11357-2 — glass transition temperature by DSC
- ISO 11357-5 — reaction enthalpy and degree of cure
- ISO 11358-1 — thermogravimetry of polymers
- ISO 6721-11 — glass transition temperature by DMA
- ISO 9142 — selection of standard laboratory ageing conditions
Surface preparation and personnel
- EN 13887 — surface preparation of metals and plastics prior to bonding
- European qualification scheme of the EWF: EAB, EAS and EAE levels
- ECARV sector guideline for the application of EN 17460
Which qualification level each case demands
The detail almost everyone gets wrong: the level required does not depend on the class alone, but also on which stage of the process you carry out.
| Process stage | Classes A1 and A2 | Class A3 | Class Z |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product design | European Adhesive Engineer | European Adhesive Bonder | No requirement |
| Process design | European Adhesive Engineer | European Adhesive Bonder | No requirement |
| Manufacturing | European Adhesive Specialist | European Adhesive Bonder | No requirement |
| Maintenance and repair | European Adhesive Specialist | European Adhesive Bonder | No requirement |
The practical reading: the European Adhesive Engineer level is not required only in class A1. It is required in any product or process design work in A1 and A2 — and almost every manufacturer of a bonded part designs its own bonding process, whether or not it calls it that. The certificate code also covers trading and assembly, and subcontracting, when they apply.
How we take you there
We do not issue the certificate — an accredited, independent body does that. We get you to the audit with the process, the documentation and the people in a condition to pass it.
The full route
Contracted whole or in stages1 · Classification of your joints
The mandatory starting point. We go through your product, inventory every adhesive joint and classify it by consequence of failure, with a signed report. Without this, nothing that follows is defensible before an auditor.
Fixed quote after the technical visit2 · Bonding instructions
The equivalent of a welding procedure, applied to adhesives: substrates, surface preparation, product, open time, ambient conditions, cure cycle and control points. Written and signed by our European Adhesive Engineer.
Standalone or within the project3 · Process qualification
Writing the procedure is not enough: you have to demonstrate that it works. This is where engineering meets the laboratory, and where we differ from a consultancy.
Per process · fixed quote after the visit4 · Documentation system and training
Manual, records, adhesive batch traceability, non-conformity management, operator instruction and internal qualification records. Everything the auditor will ask for.
Within the implementation5 · Support during the audit
Internal pre-audit, preparation of the sample joint you must produce in front of the auditor, and our presence during the audit and at the closing of non-conformities.
Included in the certification project6 · External Bonding Coordinator
And afterwards, if you have nobody qualified on the payroll, we take on the role the standard requires. An external person is expressly permitted, and for a non-European manufacturer this is often the missing piece.
Monthly retainer · fixed quote after the visitLimited by the standard: a maximum of three companies per person.
| Your situation | What we propose |
|---|---|
| Your customer has asked for EN 17460 and you are not certified | The full route: classification, system, training and support up to the audit. Fixed quote by class and process stages. |
| You are certified and it expires soon | Pre-recertification diagnosis. Remember the application goes in three months in advance. |
| Your certificate does not cover what you now manufacture | Scope extension: from A3 to A2, or adding the maintenance and repair stage. |
| You manufacture outside Europe and want to enter the market | Certification plus permanent technical representation in Europe: coordinator, test reports and dialogue with your customer’s quality department. |
| You buy bonded parts from a third party | We audit your supplier on your behalf, before you approve them or when recurring failures appear. |
And we run the tests ourselves
Our own laboratory at the Science Park. We depend on nobody to produce the evidence, and that is why we can commit to a date in writing.
Joint strength
Single-lap shear (EN 1465, ISO 4587, ASTM D1002 and D3163), T-peel (ISO 11339), floating-roller peel (EN 1464), mode I fracture energy (ISO 25217) and butt-joint tensile (EN 15870).
Degree of cure · DSC
Does your oven cycle cure the adhesive completely? Residual enthalpy tells you whether unreacted product remains. Also glass transition temperature, material identification and pot life. ISO 11357-2 and -5.
Service temperature · DMA
Up to what temperature does the joint hold under load? Real Tg of the cured adhesive — the one DSC does not resolve in highly crosslinked thermosets — plus modulus and damping. ISO 6721-11.
Composition and incoming control · TGA
What is inside, and how far it holds. Inorganic filler content, thermal stability and batch-to-batch incoming control, to catch a supplier who has quietly changed the formulation. ISO 11358-1.
Ageing
Ageing under the standard laboratory conditions set out in ISO 9142 — climatic and chemical — so you know how that joint will be in five years, not only on the day it was made.
Failure analysis
When something comes apart: root cause on the failed part and on a conforming one, with the failure pattern designated to ISO 10365. Technical or expert-witness report.
We publish our turnaround. Nobody else does.
We went through the materials testing laboratories in Spain one by one: not one publishes how long it takes. We do, and we commit to it in writing.
| Service level | Committed turnaround | Surcharge | Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | 7 working days | — | From receipt of the sample |
| Fast Track | 72 hours | +50 % | Sample received before 12:00 |
| Express | 24 hours | +120 % | Subject to prior confirmation by phone |
If we miss the deadline, we do not invoice the urgency surcharge.
Frequently asked
What we get asked most, especially from outside Europe.
Can a non-European company be certified to EN 17460?
Yes. Nothing in the standard restricts certification by nationality. The certificate is bound to the manufacturing site, so the audit takes place at your plant, wherever that is. The European register of certified companies already lists companies from outside Europe.
Can the Bonding Coordinator be someone outside my company?
Yes, the standard expressly allows it. There are conditions worth knowing: a deputy must also be appointed, the coordinator cannot at the same time be the person executing the joint, and one person may not supervise more than three companies. For a manufacturer outside Europe, an external coordinator based in the EU is often the fastest route.
Is my DIN 6701 certificate still valid?
No. The coexistence period ended in September 2025, and since October 2025 certification bodies work on EN 17460 only. The sole valid proof is the entry in the European online register — not a PDF, and not what a website says.
Which class do I need: A1, A2 or A3?
It depends on the consequence of a joint failing, not on the size of your company. A1 where failure can endanger life; A2 for significant consequences; A3 for minor ones. The class comes out of the risk analysis and your customer states it in the purchase specification. If you do not have it in writing, that is the first problem to solve.
Does SUEN issue the certificate?
No, and be wary of anyone who offers to. The certificate is issued by an accredited, independent certification body. Our job is to get you to that audit with the process, the documentation and the people in a condition to pass it.
Do my operators need the European diploma?
Not always, and a lot of money is wasted here. In rail, initial qualification of operators in the higher classes must go through an approved training body. In general industry the standard requires demonstrable competence and accepts documented internal instruction in the lower risk classes.
Can you test a sample without any further commitment?
Yes. You can order a single test with no strings attached, with the turnaround committed in writing and the interpretation included, not just a number. That is how most of our relationships start.
What we do not do
We would rather say this up front. SUEN is not a certification body: the certificate is issued by an accredited independent organisation and we are not it. We are not an approved training body of the European scheme, so we do not award the EAB, EAS or EAE diplomas, which only the national body issues. And our laboratory is not ENAC accredited: we issue technical reports signed with the method and conditions stated, valid to make decisions, develop products, resolve a failure or support a claim — but they do not replace an accredited certificate where a standard requires one for batch release or CE marking. When that paperwork is needed, we arrange it with an accredited laboratory and keep the interpretation and the follow-up.
Has a customer asked you for EN 17460?
Tell us what your customer requires or what is failing. In a two-hour visit we will tell you which class applies to you and what lies ahead. No cost and no commitment.
Tell us your case Call us · +34 674 314 956