3M industrial Velcro
It sticks like a burr to a dog’s tail (translator’s note: it is a Polish saying that means to cling to something like a limpet). George de Mestral, the originator of Velcro that we know for example from clothes or shoes probably did not know this Polish saying, but as you can read in available sources, he had a dog and some experience with ‘balls’ attached to its hair. Dog owners know that detaching such a ‘ball’ is not easy. It is no coincidence that a ‘dog’s burr’ and mounting Velcro used, for example, in clothing, have a remarkably similar structure. The above-mentioned George, when creating his product, which was patented in the 1950s, took his inspiration exactly from burdock flowers, brought home by the dog. Such a curiosity as an introduction.
Hook and loop! Mounting Velcro works well in demanding applications
The popular ‘Hook and loop’ enables you to repeatedly connect and disconnect two materials, which is why industrial Velcro has found such a wide range of applications, mainly in the textile and footwear industries. But not only! As you might guess, the strength of the bond achieved with Velcro depends on the design and the number of microhooks on its surface. Such a manner of modifying the strength of the bond has resulted in the successful use of Velcro in more demanding applications and industries.
Velcro for industrial applications
The reasons why Velcro is used in industry:
- it allows elements to be bonded multiple times
- the bond is not visible
- its tensile strength can differ
- it insulates
- it dampens vibrations
- it ensures quick mounting.
3M offers two systems of industrial Velcro. Both solutions are available in the form with an adhesive on both parts of Velcro:
3M Hook&Loop – solution in the form of a hook and loop.
The solution is available as adhesive-free, sew-in, and with acrylic or rubber adhesive. 3M offers Velcro made of nylon or polyester. A non-flammable version (Flame Resistant) is also available.
Major features:
- bond thickness of 3 to 4 mm
- immediate bonding after applying slight pressure
- number of openings: >5,000 for the nylon version and >1,000 for polyester
- available colors: white and black.
3M Dual LockTM – with mushroom-shaped stems
When to use:
- When the attachments are to be strong and fixed
- When both components to be joined are rigid
- When the bond requires precise positioning.
The “click to close” technology (there is an audible snap when fastening) is a perfect alternative to standard methods of bonding components that must, for various reasons, be able to be separated in the future.
What to take into consideration to choose the right solution:
- The materials of the components we want to bond.
In this case, it is a matter of selecting a product with an appropriate adhesive layer, providing bonding of the mushroom-shaped stem Velcro to the surface of the product to be joined. 3M offers Dual-LockTM reclosable fasteners also with VHB and LSE tapes, for low surface energy materials.
- Strength of the fastening. As I mentioned above, the strength of the bond when fastening components with Velcro depends on the density of the fastening components, in this case mushroom-shaped stems. 3M offers Dual-LockTM Velcro in three versions of mushroom-shaped stem density: 170, 250 and 400/1 inch area.
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The strength of the attachment can be adjusted by appropriately configuring the density of the mushroom-shaped stems:
| Mushroom-shaped stem density configuration | Bonding strength |
| Type 170 + Type 500 | Lowest |
| Type 250 + Type 250 | Medium |
| Type 250 + Type 400 | High |
Other configurations are not recommended.
Basic features of the bond:
- thickness of the bond of about 6 mm (reclosable fastener with VHB tape)
- prepositioning option, before fastening
- number of openings:> 1,000 before losing 50% of the initial tensile strength.
Etisoft offers 3M Hook&Loop and Dual-LockTM reclosable fasteners in the form of tape and die-cuts.
Etisoft – the official 3M preffered converter
Do you need to quickly join parts together?
