Frequently Asked Questions

Automotive

DYMAX has a number of products for both automotive OEM and automotive aftermarkets for glass bonding and glass to metal bonding. Please contact DYMAX Applications Engineering, or your local DYMAX Sales Partner, for more details or a recommendation for your application.

Electronics

Light exposure is recommended prior to heat cure. Heat cure is intended for areas that are not exposed to oxygen.

It depends on the application and conformal coating used. Secondary cures are necessary for applications where there is coating entrapped beneath components where light is not able not reach it. Multi-Cure products have a secondary heat cure, Dual-Cure products cure with moisture over time.

DYMAX conformal coatings may be applied by spray, brush, dispensed from a syringe or in some cases dipped. Please contact DYMAX Applications Engineering for assistance with selecting the proper dispensing process for your application.

The most common methods of removing DYMAX conformal coatings are chemical exposure or localized heat. For more information, please see the Technical Bulletin: Rework & Removal of UV Cured Conformal Coatings.

Yes. DYMAX Multi-Cure materials have a secondary heat cure feature for shadowed areas; DYMAX Dual-Cure materials have a secondary moisture cure.

Cleaning substrates prior to application of a DYMAX material is almost always a best practice. Removing contaminants allows for the best wetting of the application area and increases adhesion to substrates. Substrates may be cleaned by washing with water, chemicals or surface treatment.

It depends on application parameters. Cure time is influenced by variables including spectral output of the lamp, lamp intensity, distance of the lamp to the coating area, and cure speed of the material. Most DYMAX conformal coating applications call for cure times of seconds under medium- or high-intensity UV/visible light.

Yes. Secondary cures are necessary for applications where there is coating entrapped beneath components where light is not able not reach it. Multi-Cure products have a secondary heat cure, Dual-Cure products cure with moisture over time.

Please see the "Package Sizes Available" information associated with each individual product on our website.

Some DYMAX adhesives are UL recognized. The most up-to-date list is available at www.ul.com/database/. DYMAX's file number is QMJU2.E140512.

DYMAX light curing materials typically have a lower thermal limit of -54°C [-65°F] and an upper limit of 150°C [300°F]. Many DYMAX products can withstand temperatures outside of this range for short periods of time, including typical wave solder processes and reflow profiles. Please contact DYMAX Applications Engineering for assistance.

Yes. Various DYMAX conformal coatings meet the MIL-I-46058 specification under the AR, ER and UR designations.

IPC does not have a qualified products list. Qualification to IPC standards is listed on product data sheets.

DYMAX carries a select group of filled thermally conductive materials. These products have the thermal conductivity values listed on the product datasheets and the product home page on www.DYMAX.com. For more information, please see the Thermally Conductive section of our website.

Yes, DYMAX carries a wide range of conformal coatings, ranging from low viscosity to thixotropic grades. Most product families have multiple viscosity grades available. Up-to-date information is available on each product data sheet.

Any frequency of energy that gets impinged onto a substrate has two options.

• It can get reflected (in which case it is harmless).
• It can get absorbed (in which case it will turn into heat).

The intensity adjustment feature of the DYMAX BlueWave^® spot cure system allows for the ability to reduce unneeded energy, therefore reducing any excess energy that may turn into heat and damage temperature-sensitive substrates.

Equipment

There are many UV curing equipment suppliers but DYMAX curing equipment has been specifically designed and optimized to address the needs of all light cure formulations on the market.

Yes. DYMAX offers standard and custom fiberoptic light delivery options for use with many existing equipment configurations.

DYMAX offers new and refurbished curing equipment in prices ranging from $500.00 - $28,000.00. Contact one of our Customer Support team members, and they will assist you in selecting the best and most cost effective equipment for your needs.

DYMAX Applications Engineering (860-482-1010) will get you in touch with a qualified team that will assist you with your needs.

Form-in-Place (FIP) Gaskets

No, not at this time.

Glass, Metal, & Plastics Adhesives

It depends on the specific DYMAX material. Not all formulations have been measured. If the specific resin has been measured, the value is reported on the product data sheet.

It depends on application parameters. Cure time is influenced by variables including spectral output of the lamp, lamp intensity, distance of the lamp to the bond area, cure speed of the material and light transmission of substrates around the adhesive. Most applications require cure times of seconds under medium or high intensity UV/visible light.

DYMAX light curing materials shrink during cure. Shrinkage rate is dependent on the cure method and the formulation itself - DYMAX has materials that shrink less than 0.1% on cure. Linear shrinkage data is available on each PDS. Slow, low-intensity cures will reduce shrinkage rates of the light curing material.

Yes. DYMAX has a library of over 3,000 formulations. Most of the formulations were designed to bond unique and specific groups of substrates.

Yes, DYMAX does have primers available. Please contact DYMAX Applications Engineering for help selecting the best primer for your application.

Yes. DYMAX Multi-Cure^® and Dual-Cure™ materials have secondary cure mechanisms to cure in applications were direct exposure to light is not possible for the entire application area. Multi-Cure products have a secondary heat cure, Dual-Cure products cure with moisture over time. Other products need light exposure to cure.

DYMAX carries multiple glass bonding materials. For more information please see Glass Bonding Adhesives.

The most common methods of removing DYMAX light cure materials are chemical exposure or exposure to elevated temperatures. For more information, please see the Technical Bulletin: Rework & Removal of UV Cured Adhesives & Resins.

Magnet, Speaker, Dome

Please visit our speaker adhesives page. For additional information contact DYMAX Application Engineering to discuss your application.

Masking Products

SpeedMask^® masking resins can be used on virtually any dry, clean, non-liquid-absorbing substrate which requires surface protection.

SpeedMask^® 726-SC is recommended for powder coating applications where temperatures do not exceed 400°F.

Yes, DYMAX has a line of SpeedMask^® UV Curable resins which can provide reliable protection in the most common plating applications such as Electroless Nickel (Ni), platinum (Pt), Chrome (Cr), gold (Au), silver and copper (Cu). Contact DYMAX Applications Engineering to discuss the details of your application.

No, the water soluble resins were developed for dry finishing processes but DYMAX does have UV Curable peelable resins that can provide reliable protection during most plating applications.

No. There are three grades of maskants: burn-off, peelable and water-soluble. Upon removal the surface is residue free.

No, the SpeedMask^® resins are developed to be cured with a specific band of UV light.

The resins can be applied by spray, dip, brush, dispensed from a syringe or in some cases screen printing or pad printing. Please contact DYMAX Applications Engineering for assistance with selecting the proper dispensing solution for your application.

The resins can be applied by spray, dip, brush, dispensed from a syringe or in some cases screen printing or pad printing. Please contact DYMAX Applications Engineering for assistance with selecting the proper dispensing solution for your application.

The resins can be applied by spray, dip, brush, dispensed from a syringe or in some cases screen printing or pad printing. Please contact DYMAX Applications Engineering for assistance with selecting the proper dispensing solution for your application.

The resins can be applied by spray, dip, brush, dispensed from a syringe or in some cases screen printing or pad printing. Curing requires industrial light curing equipment, which can be viewed in the Equipment section of the DYMAX website. Please contact DYMAX Applications Engineering for assistance with selecting the proper dispensing solution for your application.

Please contact DYMAX Customer Support or your local Representative for pricing.

Medical Adhesives

Some adhesives bond better to certain plastics than others. Our substrate guide in the Medical Selector Guide can help identify adhesives that bond the best to your particular substrates. Or, you can contact DYMAX Applications Engineering and discuss your application with one of our engineers.

Prolonged exposure to various alcohols, halogenated solvents, aldehydes and ketones may weaken or degrade a urethane-based acrylic adhesive.

Yes, provided that a full evaluation is conducted to verify that there is no detrimental effect on the bond line. Oil-based dyes can be added to many adhesives without a significant impact, but pigments may limit the depth of cure if the pigment concentration is too high.

Please see the "Package Sizes Available" information associated with each individual product on our website.

For products that are available in various viscosities, a viscosity designator is added to the end of the product number. -T indicates "Thick", -VT indicates "Very Thick", and -GEL indicates "Gel". As the viscosity increases (Water = 0 cP), you can get viscosities over 25,000 cP or more. Please see the product data sheet for your specific product to see if a higher viscosity product has been developed.

No. DYMAX will only support short-term implantation applications, defined by the FDA as <29 days.

The optimum gap size is typically 0.002-0.006 inches, or 0.05-0.15 mm.

DYMAX Medical Device Adhesives have been tested according to ISO 10993 and USP Class VI standards for Acute Systemic Toxicity, Cytotoxicity, Hemocompatibility, Intracutaneous Implantation, and 2-week Muscular Implantation. Test results are available upon request.

Most light curable adhesives cure within seconds upon exposure to a medium-intensity or high-intensity light source.

DYMAX Medical Device Adhesives in the 1xx-M series cure with UV light only. Medical Device Adhesives in the 1xxx-M series cure with either UV or visible light or both. The data sheet will define the Curing Mechanism for all products.

Newtonian products are adhesives which have the same viscosity even under different shear rates. Thixotropic adhesives will flow when a shear force is put onto the material (like squeezing a tube of toothpaste), but when the force is removed, the material will not flow. A newtonian material might be used to pot an application or fill a cavity, while a thixotropic adhesive might be used to dispense a bead along a molded ridge.

Some formulations can survive limited exposures to Autoclave, usually 1-3 cycles of 120°C at high pressure.

Gamma and EtO sterilization methods are recommended for DYMAX Medical Device Adhesives.

Gamma and EtO sterilization methods are recommended for DYMAX Medical Device Adhesives.

DYMAX offers adhesives which have been tested in accordance with ISO 10993 and USP Class VI guidelines. Test results are available upon request.

DYMAX offers adhesives which have been tested in accordance with ISO 10993 and USP Class VI guidelines. Test results are available upon request for most standard adhesives.

Optical

DYMAX OP adhesives are most sensitive to UVA (365 nm) and visible (436 nm) light. Each product data sheet will denote whether the material is sensitive to UV light or UV and visible light.

It depends on the specific DYMAX OP adhesive. Not all formulations have been measured. If the specific resin has been measured, the value is reported on the product data sheet.

It depends on the specific DYMAX OP adhesive. Not all formulations have been measured. If the specific resin has been measured, the value is reported on the product data sheet.

The most common methods of removing DYMAX light cure materials are chemical exposure or exposure to elevated temperatures. For more information, please see the Technical Bulletin: Rework & Removal of UV Cured Adhesives & Resins.

Optical properties of DYMAX OP adhesives can be found on the respective product data sheet or selector guide.

Most DYMAX light cure materials have a one-year shelf life when stored between 10°C [50°F] and 32°C [90°F] in the original, unopened container. Detailed information is available on the specific product data sheet. Best practices include keeping the material covered and in a cool, dark place when not in use. The material may polymerize upon prolonged exposure to ambient and artificial light.

Yes. DYMAX Low-Shrink™ LS adhesives shrink less than 0.1% on cure.

Please see the "Package Sizes Available" information associated with each individual product on our website.

Most product number suffixes indicate a differentiation from the base formula. One example is the base formula OP-29. OP-29 is 2,500 cP and cures with UV light only. OP-29-Gel is the same formula, but is much thicker, 25,000 cP. Suffixes may also be used to differentiate colors, fluorescing color, or light sensitivity.

Physical properties of DYMAX OP adhesives are available on the product data sheet.

It depends on application parameters. Cure dose is influenced by variables including spectral output of the lamp, lamp intensity, distance of the lamp to the bond area, cure speed of the material, and light transmission of substrates around the adhesive. Most applications require cure times of seconds under medium or high intensity UV/visible light.

General Adhesive

All these acronyms stand for environmental compliance directives, regulations, and initiatives. Find out their meanings.

See-Cure technology can be incorporated into some adhesives. Please contact DYMAX Applications Engineering to discuss your specific adhesive and application.

No.

Read The Nose Knows... or Does It?

Most light curing adhesives available from DYMAX cure fully within seconds upon exposure to medium-intensity or high-intensity UV/visible light.

Many of our metal bonding adhesives will also bond to silver substrates. Please send 16 ounces of silver to our application laboratory to obtain an adhesive recommendation.

DYMAX offers over 3,000 unique formulations. We are only able to list a small portion of these adhesives on the website, and have chosen the most popular to be represented.

Many forms of pretreatment are available that can increase adhesion to a substrate and make the adhesive more effective. Corona treatment, Oxygen plasma treatment, Air Plasma treatment, silane-based primers, and surface abrasion will usually improve adhesion to a substrate. More exotic treatments are available if needed.

This depends on the specific adhesive. Some adhesives are designed to behave like a soft and flexible gasket, or to retain tack on the surface.

DYMAX adhesives or coatings will generally be electrically conductive in the uncured state.

DYMAX offers many different packaging options to handle the most common dispensing systems on the market. Syringes and cartridges fit most standard air-pressure dispense systems, or valve-operated dispense systems, while larger 1-liter or 15-liter pails can be placed or poured into pressure pots. These pail-based systems can use a dip tube into the adhesive if the adhesive has a low viscosity, or can utilize a ram for high-viscosity materials. Please contact DYMAX Applications Engineering for specific questions about your application.

For products that are available in various viscosities, a viscosity designator is added to the end of the product number. -T indicates "Thick", -VT indicates "Very Thick", and -GEL indicates "Gel". As the viscosity increases (Water = 0 cP), you can get viscosities over 25,000 cP or more. Please see the product data sheet for your specific product to see if a higher viscosity product has been developed.

Yes. A number of these products are in each market segment. Please contact DYMAX Applications Engineering for specific questions about your application.

Many new products cure with both UV and visible light. Details can be found on the individual data sheets or selector guides to indicate if a particular adhesive cures with UV light only, or UV/visible light.

Yes. DYMAX offers over 3,000 unique formulations. We are only able to list a small portion of these adhesives on the website, and have chosen the most popular to be represented.

Please see the "Package Sizes Available" information associated with each individual product on our website.

Please review the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) for further details.

DYMAX measures refractive index at 520 nm, with a correction for temperature. Please contact DYMAX Applications Engineering for additional details if needed.

Many DYMAX adhesives cure very rapidly, even under low-intensity black lights. A window of only a few seconds at 0.5 mW/cm² may be enough to start polymerization at the surface.

Most adhesives shrink slightly upon exposure to UV/visible light or heat.

365-395 nm is the preferred range to enable both the cure and color change.

The most common methods of removing DYMAX light cure materials are chemical exposure or exposure to elevated temperatures. For more information, please see the Technical Bulletin: Rework & Removal of UV Cured Adhesives & Resins.

FAQ's: Curing and Removal of Adhesive

DYMAX has designed its curing equipment product offerings to ensure that customer processes using our chemistries are optimized.

The most common methods of removing DYMAX light cure materials are chemical exposure or exposure to elevated temperatures. For more information, please see the Technical Bulletin: Rework & Removal of UV Cured Adhesives & Resins.

FAQ's: Adhesive Packages, Storage, & Handling

Most DYMAX light cure materials have a one-year shelf life when stored between 10°C [50°F] and 32°C [90°F] in the original, unopened container. Detailed information is available on the specific product data sheet. Best practices include keeping the material covered and in a cool, dark place when not in use. The material may polymerize upon prolonged exposure to ambient and artificial light.

Most DYMAX light cure materials have a one-year shelf life when stored between 10°C [50°F] and 32°C [90°F] in the original, unopened container. Detailed information is available on the specific product data sheet. Best practices include keeping the material covered and in a cool, dark place when not in use. The material may polymerize upon prolonged exposure to ambient and artificial light.

Most DYMAX light cure materials have a one-year shelf life when stored between 10°C [50°F] and 32°C [90°F] in the original, unopened container. Detailed information is available on the specific product data sheet. Best practices include keeping the material covered and in a cool, dark place when not in use. The material may polymerize upon prolonged exposure to ambient and artificial light.

Please see the "Package Sizes Available" information associated with each individual product on our website.