I am a fan of Seth Godin, the author who is is often provocative and insightful about marketing, business, and the way we think.
Seth’s blog post today, entitled Nails, glues and screws, uses these fastening methods as a metaphor for how we build things. Nails are quick but temporary. Screws need more effort but can be undone. Glue is a commitment: strong, permanent, not easily reversed.
We see a parallel in manufacturing – but in our world, “glue” isn’t just a metaphor. It’s a technology that often outperforms nails and screws.
When we sit down with customers in electronics or medical device manufacturing, you rarely tell us you want more screws in your assemblies. What you want is lighter products, reduced stress around joints, and assemblies that survive shock, heat, and sterilisation. Adhesives deliver this by spreading loads across the bond line instead of concentrating them in a hole. That difference matters when a crack could mean a field failure, or when every gram saved contributes to efficiency.
Adhesives also bring functions that mechanical fasteners simply can’t. They can seal against liquids or gases, prevent electrical shorts, dissipate or block heat, and dampen vibration. In practice, that means one process step can achieve several outcomes — a productivity gain as well as a performance boost. A nail or screw will only ever be a point of fixation; adhesives enable engineers to design for reliability and integration.
Seth’s punchline is: we often default to “nails” (the easy way), sometimes go all-in with “glue” (a commitment we can’t reverse), but “screws” (thoughtful, skilled, reversible decisions) usually lead to better productivity and outcomes, even though they take more work upfront.
Yes, adhesive bonding is usually irreversible. But in high-reliability manufacturing, that’s not a drawback. It’s assurance. With the right adhesive, validated to recognised standards, you can prove to auditors, regulators, and yourself that your assemblies will last. That’s why, in technology manufacturing, “glue” really is better than nails or screws. Well, Seth, most of the time.
Let’s start by talking about your application.
