Rethinking connecting!
We just learned of this prize winning development. Researchers at Technical University of Munich , Germany have developed ‘Steel Velcro’ which they claim can hold 35 tonnes per square meter of fastener and hold at temperatures up to 800 ºC.
Of course, just like ‘ordinary’ Velcro, it can be opened up without specialised tools and used again. This product is called Metaklett.
The Metaklett fastening material is made from perforated spring steel strips 0.2 millimetres thick, one kind bristling with springy steel brushes and the other sporting jagged spikes.
We think that this innovation will be useful for machine assembly and for holding things in hot and oily conditions. Especially where there is a high frequency of opening and closing whatever is being secured. Resistance to high temperatures and chemicals could also make this an important development in medical field. Metaklett is basically suitable for use in all areas that require easily opened but stable fasteners, for example air-conditioning and ventilation systems in building services engineering and automotive construction.
Of course, the strength of the connection depends on the direction of the force applied. Applied 90 degrees to the strips, the holding force is said to be about 7 tonnes. The strength of the adhesion diminishes after the first couple openings and closings then stabilizes.
I can see the engineers and designers at NASA and Boeing flying to Munich to get their hands on this.
Congratulations to the team at TU Munich, for their prize winning “rethink of connecting.”
Where would you use this in your shop?
Tag: Metaklett