Steel Velcro Holds 35 Tonnes at 800° C

Photo: TUM Institute of Metal Forming and Casting

Josef Mair and fellow engineers at the Technical University of Munich, Germany were inspired by the hook and loop concept of velcro to create a metal version:

Conventional hook-and-loop fasteners are used for everything from bandages to cable boots in aircraft and securing prosthetic limbs. Mair thinks his spring-steel fastener is tough enough to be used for building facades or car assembly. “A car parked in direct sunlight can reach temperatures of 80 °C, and temperatures of several hundred °C can arise around the exhaust manifold,” he says, but Metaklett should be able to shrug off such extremes.

The fastening is made from perforated steel strips 0.2 millimetres thick, one kind bristling with springy steel brushes and the other sporting jagged spikes.

Link via Gizmodo