Dymax has come a long way since its founding more than 40 years ago, when Andy and Clay Bachman pioneered UV-curable technologies. Today, Dymax is a global organization with more than 500 employees and nine facilities worldwide. In this episode of Voices of the Industry, host Nolan Johnson, Managing Editor of SMT007, sat down with Doug Katze, Technical Business Development Manager for Electronics at Dymax, to discuss the rapid evolution of adhesives and coatings, and how Dymax is helping manufacturers meet the demands of high-reliability applications.
The Origins of Dymax and the Shift Toward UV Technologies
Doug describes that Dymax’s founders quickly recognized the potential of UV-curable adhesives in the late 1970s, long before the market embraced them. Early efforts focused on medical device bonding, where the speed, cleanliness, and precision of light-curing chemistry offered immediate advantages. Over time, that technology expanded into electronics, automotive, defense, and other industries with demanding reliability requirements.
Today, UV materials remain core to Dymax’s portfolio, offering manufacturers fast curing, improved throughput, and reduced energy consumption.
Electronics Are Smaller, Smarter, and Hotter, and Adhesives Must Keep Up
Electronics innovation mirrors the trajectory of the cell phone: smaller, more powerful, and dramatically more functional. That increase in power density brings a familiar engineering challenge; thermal management.
“Any engineer working in electronics understands how critical heat management is,” Doug explains. “Adhesives have become an important part of the solution, especially thermally conductive grades that both secure components and move heat away from sensitive areas.”
At the same time, OEMs are demanding adhesives that can withstand vibration, thermal cycling, drop shock, environmental exposure, and tougher regulatory requirements. “What’s being asked of adhesives today is significantly more complex than just five or ten years ago,” Doug adds.
Sustainability and the Move Toward Greener Adhesive Chemistries
Sustainability expectations from OEMs are rising sharply. Dymax approaches this need from multiple angles:
- Reformulating to remove suspect raw materials, such as TPO and related initiators flagged on emerging regulatory lists.
- Reducing energy consumption and carbon footprint through UV-curable chemistry.
- Eliminating frozen-storage logistics, which are required for many heat-cure epoxies.
Doug contrasts a traditional freezer-stored epoxy, with its dry-ice shipping, thawing protocols, pot life constraints, and oven curing, with UV adhesives that are stable at room temperature and cure in seconds.
“UV materials eliminate entire steps that consume energy, create scrap, and complicate process control,” he says.
Addressing Harsh-Environment Challenges with Advanced Cure Technologies
UV adhesives offer major advantages, but as Doug notes, they aren’t the right fit for every application, especially where shadowed areas or high filler loadings prevent full light penetration. Dymax has addressed these limitations through innovations such as:
- Dual-cure technologies (UV + moisture or UV + secondary thermal cure)
- Propagation-cure chemistry, which uses heat generated during UV curing to promote a built-in secondary cure
- Heavily filled UV formulations designed for superior chemical resistance and harsh-environment durability
Looking Ahead: The Age of AI and Rising Reliability Demands
Doug points to AI computing as a major driver of new adhesive requirements. Traditional CPU-based architectures are giving way to more powerful GPU-based systems with intense thermal and mechanical stresses.
“The pace of change in electronics is accelerating, and adhesives must keep pace,” he says. “We focus heavily on understanding customer needs, not just today’s requirements, but where their technology is headed.”
A Vertically Integrated Supply Chain: A Dymax Strength
One key differentiator that Doug highlights is Dymax’s vertical integration. By manufacturing most of its own raw materials, Dymax maintained two-week lead times even during COVID-era supply chain disruptions, a feat that many suppliers could not match.
“Customers appreciate the security that comes with stable supply,” Doug notes. “It matters now more than ever.”
For more from Doug Katze, listen to the full Voices of the Industry interview.
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