Aerospace Adhesive Cartridges, Empty Dual-Cartridge & Semco-Style Hardware

Aerospace adhesive cartridges are the empty packaging hardware, dual cartridges, Semco-style barrels, plungers, and mixing nozzles, that hold and dispense two-part aerospace adhesives and sealants. Ebestron manufactures that hardware direct: 50–600 mL dual cartridges in 1:1 to 10:1 ratios, Semco-style 2.5–32 oz barrels, all built to fit the guns and static mixers you already run.

Two results buyers care about: a barrel that holds your mix ratio to spec so cured strength is repeatable, and a manufacturer-direct unit cost that undercuts branded systems priced at $524–$1,520 each.

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Aerospace Adhesive Cartridges and Semco-Style Hardware

Solution Summary

Dual Cartridge Volumes

50 / 200 / 400 / 490 / 600 mL

Mix Ratios

1:1, 2:1, 4:1, 10:1

Semco-Style Barrels

2.5, 6, 12, 20, 32 oz

Barrel Materials

PP · PA · PBT · HDPE

Gun Systems Fit

A / B / C / F-System, Semco, Nordson

Lead Time / MOQ

Sample kit on request

EngineerProcurementManager

Why Aerospace Adhesives Ship in Cartridges, and Where the Hardware Fails You

Two-part aerospace adhesives and sealants cure the moment Part A meets Part B, so they ship in a cartridge that keep the two components separated until the trigger is pulled. A dual cartridge hold the resin and hardener side by side; a Semco-style barrel holds a single component or a pre-mixed-and-frozen sealant.

This barrel isn’t passive packaging, it sets the mix ratio, the dispensing pressure, and whether the bead cures correctly. Across the aerospace industry, two-part epoxy adhesives, polyurethanes, and polysulfide sealants all reach the workpiece through this hardware, which is why the cartridge specification deserves the same scrutiny you give the chemistry.

That’s exactly where cheap hardware fails. Independent filling research from Nordson/TAH shows that trapped air inside a cartridge corrupts the dispensed volumetric ratio: the air compresses early in the stroke and expands late, so the gun lays down an off-ratio mix that under-cures (US Patent 6,848,480 B2).

That same failure show up in the field. As one airframe builder put it after a tank reseal, “My cured Pro-Seal has turned to goo”, an off-ratio or expired mix that never reached full properties.

Here’s the honest version of our position: Ebestron doesn’t formulate the adhesive. We won’t claim our barrel make a 3M or PPG sealant stronger. What we control is the hardware around the chemistry, the barrel material, the piston seal, the ratio geometry, and the fit to your gun, so the adhesive you already trust dispenses at its rated ratio every shot.

If you searched for a filled aerospace adhesive, the brands ranking above us sell that; if you need the empty cartridge, gun, and nozzle system to package or apply it, that’s what this page is about.

Two-part aerospace adhesives cartridges hardware schematic

Aerospace sealant dispensing problem trapped air research chart

Ebestron empty aerospace cartridges gun and nozzle application system

Engineer Procurement

The Ebestron Aerospace Cartridge Line, Sizes, Ratios & Materials

Our line splits into two families. Dual cartridges handle two-component structural adhesives and 2K sealants that mix at the nozzle. Semco-style single barrels handle one-part sealants and pre-mixed-and-frozen polysulfides used in aerospace fuel-tank work. Every barrel is molded to a dimensioned drawing, so a 50 mL 1:1 cartridge measures Ø21.67 mm per chamber at 118 mm tall, not “approximately 50 mL.” Barrel material is matched to chemistry and ratio, because that choice drives chemical resistance and piston alignment; the coaxial and side-by-side dual-chamber geometry that keeps Part A and Part B apart until the outlet is documented in patent AU2004200981 B2.

Dual cartridge range (the type matrix)

Model type	Ratio	Volume	Barrel material	Piston	Body Ø (mm)	Typical use
Compact 2K	1:1	50 mL	PP	Vented PE	21.67	Lab / repair kits
Compact 2K	2:1	50 mL	PP	Non-vented PE	24.9 / 17.85	Structural bonding
High-ratio	10:1	50 mL	PBT	Vented PE	22 / 7	Catalyst-lean systems
Production 2K	1:1	200 mL	PA	Wiper PE	—	Bench dispensing
Production 2K	1:1	400 mL	PE	Vented PE	44.5	High-volume bonding
Production 2K	2:1	400 mL	PP	Vented PE	—	Panel / potting
High-ratio	10:1	490 mL	PBT	Vented PE	66 / 23	Large-bead structural
Bulk 2K	1:1	600 mL	PP	Vented PE	50	Automated lines
Bulk 2K	2:1	900 mL	PP	Non-vented PE	70 / 50	Large potting jobs
Micro 2K	1:1	24 mL	PP	Non-vented PE	18.2	Electronics encapsulation

Semco-style barrels & specs

Semco-style disposable barrels are the aerospace standard for storing and dispensing sealants, adhesives, and specialty materials. We mold them from high-density polyethylene in low- and high-density grades, with a 1/4-inch NPT nozzle thread and P-, WP-, or wiper-plunger options. Sizes run 1, 2.5, 6 (170 cc), 8, 12, 20, and 32 oz (950 cc), plus a 1/10-gallon barrel, matching the formats your Semco guns and mixers already accept. Buyers comparing semco cartridge sizes or sourcing empty 2 part cartridge 50ml formats will find a one-to-one dimensional match.

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Engineer · Procurement

The Aerospace Cartridge Compatibility Matrix

By far the most common buyer mistake is matching a cartridge to the adhesive but not to the gun and static mixer ecosystem around it. One forum buyer summed up the trap: “Albion b26 hands down, only downside is it’s fairly small so won’t fit the longer cartridges.” Even a barrel that hold the right ratio is useless if it won’t seat in your gun. Our matrix below maps adhesive chemistry to the cartridge format, mix ratio, gun system, and mixer that dispense it cleanly.

Adhesive / Sealant Chemistry	Cartridge Format	Typical Ratio	Barrel Material	Gun System	Static Mixer
2K epoxy (structural)	Dual 50–400 mL	1:1 / 2:1	PA / PP	B / C-System manual	Bayonet, 8.7 mm
2K epoxy (high-strength)	Dual 400–600 mL	1:1	PP	F-System pneumatic	Bell, 10.7 mm
2K polyurethane	Dual 200–490 mL	2:1 / 4:1	PP	C / F-System	Bayonet, 8.7 mm
2K methacrylate / acrylic	Dual 50 mL	10:1	PBT	F-System manual	F-System, 5.3 mm
Silicone (2K)	Dual 200–400 mL	1:1	PP	C-System	Bell, 10.7 mm
Polysulfide sealant (1K)	Semco 2.5–6 oz	n/a	HDPE	Semco manual gun	n/a (bead nozzle)
Pre-mixed-frozen polysulfide	Semco 6–20 oz pre-mixed	n/a	HDPE	Semco pneumatic	n/a
Potting / encapsulant	Dual 24–50 mL	1:1 / 2:1	PP	Manual / bench	Luer-tip, 5.3 mm
Anaerobic / CA accessory	Single barrel	n/a	HDPE / PP	Manual	Luer-slip tip
Threadlocking / structural paste	Dual 50–200 mL	1:1	PA	B-System	Bayonet, 8.7 mm

Engineering Note

Two engineering notes most resellers skip. First, hidden cost lives in the static mixer: a traditional 24–32-element mixer traps far more adhesive than it needs to. Low-waste designs reach a complete mix in 7–8 elements and cut retained-adhesive waste by up to 75% (US Patent Application 2011/0081499 A1 describes the cartridge-plus-static-mixer architecture). Second, vented versus non-vented pistons aren’t interchangeable, vented pistons let trapped air escape during rear-fill, which is what protects the ratio integrity the Nordson filling patent documents. Paired with a manual or pneumatic dispenser sized to the cartridge, that ratio hold shot after shot.

Engineer Manager

Semco-Style Vs Dual-Cartridge, The 3-Question Cartridge Selector

Buyers often default to “bigger cartridge, fewer changeovers.” That assumption isn’t always right. A barrel only helps if you can dispense it inside the adhesive’s application life, PR-1422 Class B, for example, has a B-1/2 grade that stays workable for just 30 minutes (FAA Advisory Circulars cover fuel-tank sealing practice). Size a 600 mL barrel to a 30-minute job and you scrap the remainder. That trade-off is real, so we use three questions instead of a guess.

One component or two? A pre-mixed or single-component sealant (most fuel-tank polysulfides) ships in a Semco-style barrel. A resin-plus-hardener system need a dual cartridge that keeps the parts apart until the nozzle.
What mix ratio? 1:1 and 2:1 dispense well from standard PP barrels; 10:1 catalyst-lean systems need a PBT barrel for dimensional stability so the small chamber holds its ratio under load.
What gun do you already own? The barrel must seat in your gun system (A / B / C / F-System, or a Semco gun) and accept your mixer. Match the format to the installed base, not the other way around.

Decision factor	Semco-style barrel	Dual cartridge
Components	1 (or pre-mixed-frozen)	2 (resin + hardener)
Mixing	None / hand-mixed kit	Static mixer at nozzle
Typical aerospace use	Fuel-tank fillet & fay seals	Structural bonding / potting
Ratio control	n/a	Barrel geometry holds ratio
Size range	2.5–32 oz	24–900 mL
Material	HDPE	PP / PA / PBT
Gun	Semco manual / pneumatic	A/B/C/F-System

Once the three questions point to a format, our tooling holds it to a fixed drawing, so the 50 mL barrel you qualify in a sample kit measures the same Ø21.67 mm chamber at production volume, the dimensional repeatability a precision two-part system depends on, and the proof point a reseller buying mixed stock can’t offer.

Not sure which format fits your work time? Ask us to size it for your job →

Manager Procurement (cost)

Built for Aerospace Supply Chains, Traceability, Consistency & Total Cost

Here’s the honest trade-off on price. Yes, a 2K cartridge costs more per unit than buying adhesive in bulk, trade press has said so for years. But the unit price is the wrong number. Once you count retained-mixer waste (up to 75% of a long mixer’s hold-up), hazardous disposal of off-ratio scrap, and the labor of hand-mixing, the packaged cartridge usually wins on cost per good shot.

Consistency is the other half. Ebestron cartridges ship to a fixed drawing with batch-level dimensional control aligned to ISO 9001 quality management, so the chamber Ø and piston fit you qualify on the first lot are the same on the fiftieth. That repeatability is what lets a first-article approval hold across a multi-year program, and it is the gap that a reseller buying mixed stock cannot close.

“We hold the barrel bore and piston seal to the drawing on every lot, because in two-part work a few tenths of a millimetre of bore drift is enough to shift the dispensed ratio. The cartridge is a precision part to us, not a plastic tube.”

Ebestron Engineering Team, Tooling & Quality, Shanghai Ebestron New Materials

Where the cartridge cost actually goes (TCO view)

Manufacturer-direct unit price, set against branded systems quoted at $524–$1,520 each.
Retained-mixer waste drops sharply, a low-hold-up mixer recovers material that a 24–32-element mixer would purge, up to 75% less.
Off-ratio scrap goes away once the barrel hold ratio to spec instead of trapping fill air.
Hand-mix labour falls because a dual cartridge replaces weigh-and-mix stations and the operator error that rides along.
Exact savings depend on your part volume and adhesive cost, request a TCO worksheet tailored to your line.

Get a TCO worksheet built around your volume →

Procurement Engineer (standard fit)

Material Compatibility & Quality Standards

Barrel material has to survive the chemistry it stores, and that’s a real engineering choice rather than a marketing line. We won’t claim one polymer is best for everything, each has a trade-off:

ISO 9001-aligned QMS

1/4-inch NPT Semco thread

Batch dimensional reports

PP · PA · PBT · HDPE grades

Barrel material	Strength	Limitation	Best-for chemistry
PP (polypropylene)	Broad chemical resistance, low cost	Verify against harsh solvents	Most 2K epoxy, PU, silicone
PA (polyamide)	High strength under pressure & heat	Can absorb moisture over time	High-pressure production bonding
PBT	Dimensional stability, precise piston fit	Lower impact resistance	10:1 high-ratio systems
HDPE	Inert, aerospace Semco standard	Single-component focus	Polysulfide & 1K sealants

Aerospace sealants themselves are classified by consistency, Class A for brush work on fasteners, Class B (thick) for fillet and injection seals, Class C (thinner) for fay sealing. Class B polysulfides such as PR-1422 hold a service range of −54 °C to 121 °C (−65 °F to 250 °F) and are qualified to AMS-S-8802; your barrel has to store and dispense it without contaminating that chemistry. Ebestron operates a quality system aligned to ISO 9001 certification, and material grades, dimensional specification reports, and batch records are available on request to ensure every lot matches the first article you qualified, the documentation a known brand provides and most low-cost suppliers cannot.

Procurement Manager (Budget)

Procurement Guide, MOQ, Lead Time, Customization & OEM Filling

Buyers evaluating an adhesive cartridge supplier usually weigh four factors: fit, cost, documentation, and how the relationship scales. Rather than publish a single price that ignores your configuration, here are the levers that set a quotation and its pricing:

01
Format and volume Dual cartridge vs Semco-style, sized to your shot and the adhesive’s application life.
02
Material grade PP, PA, PBT, or HDPE, chosen against your adhesive chemistry.
03
Piston and nozzle config Vented vs non-vented, sealing-ring choice, and mixer interface.
04
Customization Private-label colour, engraved part marking, and OEM filling support if you supply or contract the adhesive.

Engineering Hub

Aerospace Adhesive Engineering & Selection Tools

FAQ · AEROSPACE ADHESIVES

FAQ, Aerospace Adhesive Cartridges

Do you supply empty cartridges or filled adhesive?

Empty hardware. Ebestron manufactures the cartridges, barrels, plungers, and mixing nozzles — not the adhesive chemistry. You fill them with your own qualified adhesive or sealant, or we support OEM filling partnerships. If you need a filled product, brands like 3M, PPG, and Henkel formulate those.

Which cartridge fits a Sulzer Mixpac B-System gun?

Our 50 mL and 200 mL dual cartridges are built to the B-System interface. Send your gun model and we confirm the fit.

What sizes match Semco guns?

Our Semco-style range covers 2.5 to 32 oz plus a 1/10-gallon barrel, all with the 1/4-inch NPT thread Semco guns use — a one-to-one fit for semco sealant or empty silicone cartridge formats.

Are double epoxy syringes refillable, or single-use?

One buyer on r/Tools asked exactly this — “are double epoxy syringes refillable? I hate constantly mixing some out of the 10oz tubes.” Our dual cartridges are designed for rear-fill with vented pistons, so OEM fillers and high-volume users can load them from bulk rather than buy pre-filled units every time, which is where the per-shot economics start to favour the cartridge. The vent path lets trapped air escape during that fill, protecting the dispensed ratio on the very first shot, and single-use disposable barrels remain available when traceability rules out refilling.

Why does a vented piston matter?

Vented pistons let trapped air escape during rear-fill. Trapped air compresses early and expands late in the stroke, which shifts the dispensed ratio off spec and weakens the cure — the failure mode documented in US Patent 6,848,480 B2. For rear-filled production cartridges, vented pistons protect ratio integrity.

Are your cartridges compatible with polysulfide fuel-tank sealants?

Yes. HDPE Semco-style barrels are the aerospace standard for polysulfide sealants, including pre-mixed-and-frozen formats. A Class B polysulfide such as PR-1422 (service −54 °C to 121 °C, AMS-S-8802) stores and dispenses from these barrels for fillet and injection seals.

References & Data Sources

US Patent 6,848,480 B2, Filling process for dual fluid cartridge assemblies (Nordson/TAH). patents.google.com
US Patent Application 2011/0081499 A1, Dual-component dispensing and mixing systems with static mixing nozzle. patents.google.com
ISO 9001, Quality management systems. iso.org
SAE AMS-S-8802 / AMS 3281G, Aerospace integral fuel-tank polysulfide sealing compounds (service −54 to 121 °C).
FAA Advisory Circulars, Aircraft fuel-tank sealing and maintenance practice. faa.gov
Aircraft sealant Class A / B / C definitions and Semkit packaging, industry technical references.

Why We Build the Hardware, Not the Glue

Ebestron has spent its years in adhesive-packaging consumables, dispensing guns, dual cartridges, and mixing tubes, rather than chemistry. The dimensional and material data on this page comes from our own cartridge tooling drawings and the gun and mixer systems our 50–600 mL barrels are built to fit. We publish the trade-offs (PA absorbs moisture, PBT is less impact-resistant, premium cartridges cost more per unit) because an honest spec is what an aerospace buyer can actually qualify against.

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