Adhesives for Demanding Environments

Boyd has led adhesive innovation for more than 70 years, combining excellent manufacturing skills with in-depth material science expertise. Our high-temperature tape and adhesive technologies elevate product performance, reliability, and longevity by seamlessly integrating with thermal management and sealing solutions.

Boyd: Engineered Adhesive Solutions

Boyd’s specialized adhesive solutions bond, seal, insulate, cushion, and protect in a variety of demanding applications. Our high-temperature adhesives balance material compatibility, adhesion strength, and thermal resistance for harsh conditions. Our adhesives integrate with foam, rubber, metal, and plastics, enabling intricate, high-performance designs and enhancing efficiency and durability. We optimize material yield, deliver extremely tight tolerances, and drive economical production by leveraging rotary die-cutting, clean room fabrication, and sophisticated processing. Our expertise in precision manufacturing enables us to develop cutting-edge adhesive solutions that meet the most exacting performance standards.

Optimal Adhesive Performance

The wide range of tape applications requires scientifically produced adhesives suited to various performance requirements. Various factors influence material choice, including environmental resistance, reusability, adhesive strength, shear strength, temperature range, conformability, and surface energy compatibility. Boyd simplifies this complexity with an extensive selection of high-temperature adhesive chemistries.

Acrylic Adhesives: Available in water-based, solvent-based, or pure acrylic variants, these adhesives adhere to various surfaces and provide exceptional environmental durability.

Rubber-Based Adhesives: Natural or synthetic rubber-based adhesives create strong bonds at a lower cost, making them ideal for interior applications.

Silicone Adhesives: Resistant to chemicals and high temperatures, these adhesives perform well in challenging conditions.

Boyd’s Thermal Adhesive Innovations

Boyd’s next-generation thermal adhesives handle higher operating temperatures, improve conductivity, and enhance environmental resistance.

High-Temperature Pressure-Sensitive Adhesives (PSAs): These adhesives maintain strength and flexibility under extreme heat, making them suitable for EV battery packs, aerospace components, and high-power electronics.

Thermally Conductive Adhesives: By combining bonding and heat dissipation, these materials improve cooling efficiency in power modules, heat sinks, and electronic devices.

Extreme-Environment Sealing Tapes: Engineered for chemical resistance, UV stability, and temperature extremes, these tapes boost protection and durability in critical applications.

Boyd: Streamlined Manufacturing with Adhesive Solutions

Boyd’s advanced adhesive solutions enhance cost-effectiveness, performance, and manufacturing feasibility. Our material science proficiency enables us to tailor adhesives to meet specific performance needs across industries. Our global manufacturing and clean room capabilities ensure precise processing, strict tolerances, increased output rates, and contamination-free solutions. Our adhesives integrate seamlessly into assemblies, optimizing production by decreasing assembly time, increasing accuracy, and cutting expenses.

Boyd stands as a reputable industry leader in high-temperature tapes and adhesives, delivering cutting-edge, high-performing solutions for harsh conditions. Our sophisticated materials, meticulous manufacturing, and extensive experience set us apart. Get in touch with our professionals to explore how Boyd’s adhesive solutions enhance your designs.

What Are Adhesive Tape Release Liners?

Adhesive tape release liners are backing material used to protect the adhesive on an adhesive tape until it is ready for use. The liner is typically made from paper or film coated with a release agent, which allows tape to be easily removed from the liner without damaging the adhesive.

Adhesive tapes are generally wound onto a roll with a release liner for manufacturing. The liner protects and keeps the adhesive clean during shipping and storage and is easily removed prior to application.

What are Adhesive Tape Release Liners made of?

Release liners are available in a variety of materials and thicknesses depending on the end application. The most common types of release liners are either coated paper or films.

Paper release liners are typically coated with silicone to prevent the adhesive from adhering to the liner.

Film release liners are most widely available in polyester, polyethylene, or polypropylene. Silicone, fluorosilicone, and fluoropolymer are common coatings for film release liners.

Release Liner material is selected based on ease of removal, level of cleanliness requirements, and convertibility. Some liners are designed to be easily removed by hand, while others require special tooling or a machine to separate the liner from the tape.

Adhesive Tape Release Liner Selection and Utilization

Release liners are a critical component in the manufacturing process for tapes and components that are laminated to or assembled with tapes. Release liners are also potentially critical for end applications, like medical wearable devices that leverage release liners to protect stick to skin adhesive until it is applied to a patient. Slitting, scoring, or extending liners into pull tabs can reduce assembly times by improving tape application efficiency.

Boyd has fabricated adhesives over 70 years and consistently innovates new processes and use applications. Our material science and manufacturing experts help your team select the best fit release liner for your product and application. Boyd’s specialty is helping you optimize your design and assembly process to reduce time to market and costs. Learn how our engineering team helps you select the right adhesive solution.

What are the different adhesive tape types?

There are three main types of adhesive tape constructions: transfer tapes, single sided tapes, and double sided tapes. Each tape type varies in application and typical materials to help tailor the tape for a specific purpose.

Adhesive Transfer Tapes

Adhesive Transfer Tapes, unsupported tapes, or free film tapes are pressure-sensitive adhesives that do not have a carrier to support the adhesive in application but do have a release liner to protect the adhesive pre-application. Adhesive Transfer Tapes are ideal for bonding, mounting, splicing, laminating, and closure due to their conformability and fast adhesion. Transfer tapes also demonstrate good adhesive wet out, shear strength, and holding power at elevated temperatures.

Adhesive Transfer Tapes can also be further classified by what they are used for:

Laminating Adhesive Transfer Tapes bond two surfaces that need conformability and flexibility during utilization. Boyd leverages these transfer tapes for advanced multifunctional laminated engineered material solutions.

Bonding Adhesive Transfer Tapes are the most commonly used transfer tapes which hold two different materials together. Examples of bonding adhesive transfer tape applications include metal nameplate application to plastic housings, adhering graphic overlays, or for foam gaskets.

Sealing Tape Adhesive Transfer Tapes are used for box and bag sealing, especially in the direct and indirect food contact industry.

Adhesive Transfer Tapes are not ideal for applications that need stability, strict dimensional tolerance control during fabrication and assembly, and ease of installation.

Single-Sided Adhesive Tape

Single Sided Tapes feature a backing film or carrier material that is coated on one side with adhesive. Single Sided Tape can bond, seal, and splice components together or protect, mask, or identify a surface.

Common types of single-sided adhesive tapes

Medical Tapes are designed for use on medical equipment or stick-to-skin applications. Traditional applications include advanced wound care like hydrocolloid dressings and medical disposables. Transdermal patches are a specialized version of medical tape with a pharmaceutical compound embedded within the adhesive to deliver a prescription drug over a set time period.

Electrical Tape or Electrically Isolating Adhesive Tapes are used to electrically isolate wires, cables, or electronic devices from other components or users for increased safety and reliability. Electrical tapes commonly leverage vinyl or PVC carriers for their insulating properties.

Masking Tapes or Protective Tapes are paper or thin film based tapes with low adhesive strength. Masking tapes protect specific areas from paint, especially during spray painting processes. Protective tapes protect a surface during manufacturing processes or shipping.

Packaging Tape or Strapping Tape is used to seal packages or boxes and commonly leverage polypropylene carriers for its high adhesive strength.

Aluminum Foil Tape is commonly used for HVAC and insulation applications. Other metal foils can be used to help spread heat from heat sources.

For heavy-duty applications, duct tape is a common adhesive tape especially for HVAC repairs and sealing, but not leveraged widely within precision converting applications.

What are Single-Sided Adhesive Tapes?

Double Sided Tapes or Double Coated Tapes have adhesive on both sides of the carrier material. Double Sided Adhesive Tapes are used for bonding, mounting, splicing, packaging, and medical applications, especially medical wearable devices.

Medical wearables like continuous glucose monitors are rapidly increasing in adoption and leverage the latest innovations in double sided medical adhesive tapes.

Double sided adhesive foam tapes help bond two surfaces together but still enable compressibility and conformability between the two surfaces. Foam adhesives are ideal in applications with high vibration or shock environments.

Boyd’s 7 Decade Expertise in Adhesive Precision Converting

Boyd has innovated adhesive selection and converting for over 70 years and has built exceptional expertise in designing, handling, and processing adhesive materials while choosing technologies for unique applications Leverage our knowledge for your most challenging and innovative application by reaching out to our team.

In our previous blog, we explored different display enhancements that improve visibility and user experience. In the second blog of our display enhancement series, we focus on display module durability and ruggedization.

Why Enhance Display Durability?

Once a display design meets visual and user experience specifications, it is important to ensure that it performs optimally throughout the life of the device. Displays are often subject to heavy use, drop shock, sudden impact, extreme weather, a variety of possible contaminants, and other hazards that can damage essential components and lead to malfunction.

From strengthening the housing to tempering the cover glass, there are many enhancements to help displays weather impact and heavy use without impeding function. This is especially important for devices in eMobility, medical, aerospace, or defense applications, where malfunction or device failure can negatively impact user safety.

Some of the most common types of display module durability enhancement at Boyd include:

1. Optimizing Bezels and Enclosures: Different types of plastic and metal can have a significant impact on the durability of housings and the enclosed display. Materials like acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and engineered polymers such as polyphenylsulfone (PPSU) have excellent impact resistance and strength, making them durable choices for display enclosures. Even for bezel-less frames, our display design experts can offer guidance for new or existing housings and bezel designs that optimize material selection and display protection.
2. LOCA Bonding: The method used to bond display module components together can have a massive impact on durability. Liquid Optical Clear Adhesive (LOCA) bonding offers the most robust and best overall performance of any bonding technology. Because the display layers are bonded together with a liquid adhesive instead of a framed air gap or adhesive tape, it resists extreme temperatures, condensation, and significantly improves overall impact strength. This bonding technology is particularly useful for devices that may be exposed to a rugged environment or repeated heavy use, such as consumer electronics.
3. Gasketing and Sealing: Display gaskets are flexible, resilient, and often utilized to ruggedize screens and improve durability. These include front frame gaskets and seals, foam adhesive tapes and gaskets, bezel bonding seals, foam spacers, cushions, or dampers, touch display mount tapes, housing seals, and other solutions. They absorb shock and vibration to prevent screen cracking and dust ingress while also enabling heat dissipation, and acoustic or mechanical energy damping. Gaskets also protect sensitive internal display electronics and sustain long term optical clarity against dust, water, heat, oil, or other contaminants. Boyd can integrate multiple engineered materials and thermal technologies into single, efficient display gasket solutions for greater efficiency, easier assembly, and even better durability.
4. Tempering Cover Glass: Tempering glass is a popular enhancement using heat or chemicals to increase cover glass strength by changing the compression and tension of the glass. This enables display structures to withstand more force and significantly improves impact resistance. Depending on the thickness and strength requirements for the cover glass, Gorilla Glass™ or Dragontrail™ are both tempered aluminosilicate glass commonly used for consumer devices that require the highest level of impact protection.
5. Display Protection Films: Protection films provide an optically transparent barrier to improve display resistance to scratches, impact, UV, and water, while maintaining maximum optical transmittance. Protective films can be designed for long- or short-term use. Long-term applications are intended for use throughout device lifespans to protect sensitive components like cover glass, screens, and other surfaces from scratching or cracking during frequent and repeated use. Short-term applications temporarily protect screens through manufacturing, build, and sales processes to be removed by the owner. There are many options available depending on the level of protection needed, including anti-shatter and cover glass reinforcement solutions.

Boyd has decades of experience providing different display technologies to OEMs and Tier 1 partners for a wide variety of industries. Our supplier relationships and access to advanced engineered materials allow us to streamline your supply chain and combine multiple display enhancements into a single integrated display solution.

Not sure about the best way to enhance your display module, or curious about all the different options that Boyd offers? Request a consultation with our experts today to find the right solution for your next project.

Boyd offers several different display enhancements to improve visibility and user experience.

One size does not fit all when it comes to deciding on the specific display for your product. Displays often need to meet stringent visual standards that differ across industries. Boyd has several ways to enhance display performance to suit your unique user interface needs without adding weight, bulk, or increasing power demand.

Why Enhance Display Visibility and User Experience?

Visual display enhancements improve user experience, customer satisfaction, and market adoption by increasing sunlight readability, maximizing display vivacity and clarity, and optimizing power efficiency by minimizing display light leak loss.

Some of the most common types of display module enhancements to improve visibility and user experience

1. AF or AS Coating: Anti-fingerprint (AF) coating and anti-smudge (AS) coating are two of the most common front surface display enhancements utilized today. These coatings protect surfaces where visibility decreases with repeated use. Applied via spray coating, these enhancements protect displays in applications where the front surface is subject to oil and contaminant deposits from repeat user touch, interaction, and operation.
2. AR or AG Coating:Anti-reflective (AR) coating and anti-glare (AG) coating are frequently used in outdoor applications or those with varying light exposure. Mitigating glare and reflection is important in industries such as automotive or agricultural industries where visibility is critical, and users are subject to both natural and artificial light. Both are applied to the front surface of the display for better visibility in direct sunlight or other harsh lighting conditions. These coatings boost apparent luminance and contrast of a display by mitigating light loss via reflection or glare. Users see more vibrant images across a variety of use environments.
3. Decorative Cover Lens or Glass:The front surface of a display module is the first thing a user sees, making it an ideal place for device information, instruction, and function. Decorating the cover lens or glass entails printing colored graphics, logos, or other notes directly onto the rear surface of the lens or glass. These markings can be designed to highlight specific areas of the display, enhance display aesthetics, indicate warnings, or promote brands, combining both form and function. This process is versatile, making it suitable for a wide range of applications.
4. Enhancing the Backlight Assembly:Many display modules include a small strip of light emitting diodes (LEDs) that surround the LCD to illuminate the display. These LEDs are typically housed in a thin metal railing called a light rail, which has a variety of enhancement options. LEDs can be replaced by brighter or dimmer LEDs depending on visibility requirements. Alternatively, Boyd can install a dual-mode light rail, which alternates the LED types to include multiple lighting forms along the same light rail. Brightness enhancement films improve the viewing angle of the display and recycle light generated by the backlighting toward the user, improving vivacity, visibility, and backlight efficiency.Many display modules include a small strip of light emitting diodes.
5. Reflector Films: Reflector films are integrated into displays to improve efficiency and brightness by reducing waste light directed to the sides or back of the display. Reflector films reflect light through the display, concentrating all generated display module light toward the viewer. More light reaching the user maximizes energy efficiency, vivacity, and color trueness.
6. Optically Clear Adhesives: Bond display module components together and minimize refractive loss with refractive index matched optically clear adhesives (OCAs). The optically clear adhesive provides a consistently thin bond across the display with maximum optimal clarity. OCAs are optimized to match the refractive index of display module components, maximizing light transition to the user for better display contrast, vibrancy, and vivacity.

Different visual and user experience display enhancements can be mixed and matched depending on product’s visual and performance requirements. In our next blog, we take a look at different enhancements for ruggedizing and protecting your display.

Optically clear adhesive (OCA) bonding adheres display layers together with a sheet adhesive to maximize optical clarity.

In our previous blogs in the display bonding technology series, we discussed air gap bonding and liquid optical clear adhesive (LOCA) bonding. In the final blog of our three-part bonding technologies series, we focus on the most widely used display bonding capability at Boyd: optically clear adhesive (OCA) bonding.

What is the Process Behind Optically Clear Adhesive (OCA) Bonding?

Optically clear adhesive bonding is an innovative technology that allows Boyd to provide thinner bond lines, resulting in thinner overall display stack-ups. OCA bonding utilizes a dry film pressure-sensitive adhesive to join layers together. OCA is laminated to a substrate using pressure to eliminate air gaps from the assembly. This can bond a rigid component to other rigid components or a flexible component (such as an overlay) to a rigid component.

• Rigid-to-Rigid OCA Bonding: A vacuum chamber removes all air from between the layers, closely adhering two or more rigid components.
• Flexible OCA Bonding: A roller pushes all the air out from between the flexible component and substrate (either flexible or rigid) with a manual roller or automated in-line rotary precision converting.

Preventing all bubbles or air gaps maximizes optical clarity, making OCA ideal for applications where readability is critical. We generally handle, process, and assemble OCA in Class 100 clean rooms to assure zero foreign object debris (FOD) or contamination. We have both UV or UV–sensitive environments depending on the material and application.

Why Choose Optically Clear Adhesive (OCA) Bonding?

The main advantage of optically clear adhesive bonding technology is thinner bond lines. Where liquid optically clear adhesive (LOCA) bonding can achieve a bond line between 0.015″ to 0.030″, OCA bonding can get even thinner, achieving a 0.005″ to a 0.008″ bond line. This bonding capability is well-suited for components where thickness is critical, including cover glass, touchscreens, and frameless LCDs.

Another advantage of optically clear adhesive bonding is that the sheet adhesive does not require curing, making it faster than other bonding processes. Using a sheet adhesive also provides tighter tolerance, more consistent flat bond lines, and higher yield rates when compared to liquid adhesives. No special dispensing equipment is needed.

While there are several benefits to using optically clear adhesive, it may not be suitable for all applications. Unlike LOCA bonding, optically clear adhesive results in a bonded adhesive that cannot be reworked, which requires a more rigorous inspection and testing process to ensure high manufacturing yields.

Boyd offers a wide variety of bonding options to meet unique project needs, providing the best-fit solution for your application. To learn more about the process behind our display bonding technologies, read our other blogs listed below or reach out to our experts.

What is Air Gap Bonding?

What is Liquid Optically Clear Adhesive (LOCA) Bonding?

In our previous blog, we discussed the benefits and drawbacks of air gap bonding. In the second blog of our three-part display bonding technologies series, we focus on liquid optically clear adhesive (LOCA) bonding.

What is the Process Behind Liquid Optically Clear Adhesive (LOCA) Bonding?

As the name suggests, liquid optically clear adhesive bonding involves bonding layers of the stack-up together with a liquid adhesive. Instead of leaving an air gap between components, the clear adhesive fills the entire space between display layers. Primarily used when bonding together two rigid materials, LOCA bonding is typically chosen for its increased impact resistance, sunlight readability, and optical clarity.

For each display, Boyd’s engineers develop custom fixturing to fit the precise dimensions of the components. Highly precise metering equipment dispenses a consistent amount of liquid adhesive specific to the display design. Our engineers design a program to measure out the proper amount of adhesive in the optimal dispensing pattern unique to each assembly.

The adhesive is cured with UV light in a class 10,000 clean room. Boyd tests and inspects each display with sophisticated methods and equipment to ensure the highest quality assemblies.

Why Choose Liquid Optically Clear Adhesive (LOCA) Bonding?

Liquid optically clear adhesive bonding is used for its strong overall performance and elevated level of impact resistance. Another major benefit of LOCA bonding is high optical clarity, as the liquid adhesive prevents air gaps from forming within the stack-up. LOCA bonding is a popular solution because it is a re-workable process. If needed, the liquid adhesive can be removed and components can be salvaged and re-used, increasing overall manufacturing yields.

LOCA bonding is a robust technology that Boyd has provided to a variety of industries for over a decade. Boyd’s experts leverage proprietary processes and adhesives to provide optimal bonding solutions for specific display requirements. To learn about the other display bonding technologies at Boyd, read the other blogs in this series below:

What is Air Gap Bonding?

What is Optically Clear Adhesive (OCA) Bonding?

As performance requirements for integrated touchscreens and displays continue to evolve, effectively bonding display components together is critical. A typical display is composed of many layers such as cover glass, a touchscreen, and/or an LCD that are all integrated to ensure the display functions optimally under its intended conditions. Boyd combines these separate components together using high-grade adhesives and unique bonding technologies.,

As a front panel integrator, Boyd offers three main bonding technologies to help customers develop the ideal display construction and component stack-up: air gap (or framed adhesive), rigid-to-rigid liquid optically clear adhesive (LOCA), and optically clear adhesive (OCA) bonding. These bonding solutions serve a wide range of industries, including consumer, medical, military, automotive, instrumentation, and industrial controllers.,

We discuss the benefits and challenges of each of these bonding technologies in this three-part blog series. To begin, we review one of the original display bonding capabilities at Boyd: air gap bonding.

What is the Process Behind Air Gap Bonding?

Air gap bonding uses a framed adhesive gasket around the perimeter of the display layers, leaving behind a small air gap within the stack-up. As there are no liquid adhesives to dispense and no cure time, air gap bonding is significantly less expensive than other bonding options.

Why Choose Air Gap Bonding?

Air gap constructions are cost-effective and lightweight, so they are popular solutions for applications with no readability or impact-resistance requirements.

While the lower cost is a benefit, this construction can present a few challenges. The air gap can affect screen clarity in bright light due to additional light refraction. Displays with air gaps are also more susceptible to moisture damage and breakage, so they are not ideal for outdoor applications or harsh environments.

Boyd has decades of experience creating custom display bonding technologies for the ideal stack-up in your display. To learn about the other bonding technologies available at Boyd, read the other blogs in our series below.,

Liquid Optical Clear Adhesive (LOCA) Bonding

Optically Clear Adhesive (OCA) Bonding

What components make up an “Integrated Display”?

What makes automotive displays different from other types of display modules?

How do you decide on what type of touchscreen to use?

How do you choose what bonding to use?

How much do Display Integration techniques vary between industries?

How can I protect my display?

What is the most exciting display application that you have worked on?

What do you think is the future of Display Integration?