Metal Velcro

RotJ writes "British scientists have developed technology that can grow structures up to 2 millimetres high and 0.2 millimetres in diameter on metal surfaces. Dubbed Surfi-Sculpt, it 'will act like ultra-strong Velcro to form much tougher joints between metals and lightweight composite materials'."

Comments

Re:Isn't the point of velcro

[Sexy Bern]

I imagine repairing/replacing a space shuttle tile becomes a whole lot more realistic.

Where is the weakest link, btw?

[toesate]

You can have a strong bonded metal velcro, but there could still has a weaker link somewhere along the chain of materials, the ones that are not bonded as tightly as the metal velcro.

To illustrate, imagine a piece of melted cheese is the velcro for 2 pieces of pastry in a burger, then the weakest link is between the pastry and the bread.

The advantage is...

[Tau Zero]

that the attachment of e.g. fibers in a composite to the metal protrusions does not depend on the bonding mechanism of a glue. The glue may age and fail, but the mechanical entanglement will not.

pulling velcro apart

[moviepig.com]

Isn't the point of Velcro that you can pull it apart?

Literally pulling two Velcro blocks apart can be next to impossible. Usually it's a matter of peeling Velcro apart... which should work here too if one of the bondees (the "composite", presumably) is flexible.

Manners Maketh Man

[Space cowboy]

With regard to the electrons rather than photons, someone else had already previously pointed that out anyway. Fair cop.

The 'teasing' I think is a fair description, since the article itself uses the word to describe the process:

"Electromagnetic fields controlled by software choreograph the electron beam's movements around the metal, teasing out many projections at once."

So, in your opinion I may not be either interesting or informative, but I am 50% correct. As were you. You're welcome too.

Simon.

Re:Isn't the point of velcro

[Sexy Bern]

But the wing chassis is metal, is it not? Doesn't the article say that the technique can be used to bond metal with other compounds?

You are not

[gr3y]

even half right, and we're not competing here.

You paraphrased the article inaccurately, attributing the commercial potential you're talking about to a technology that isn't described. Your defense is that someone else previously pointed it out so that it's a "fair cop", and that Mick Hamer used the word "teasing" to describe the process to his intended audience in the article he wrote.

The "fast to create" that you speak of is a direct result of the technology you misrepresented. Your path does not lead to the "why", and that's unfortunate, because the why explains why the process may lead to incredible gains in:

1. Heat sink efficiency
2. Catalytic converter (and other smog-scrubbing technology) efficiency
3. Bone adhesion to artificial joint replacements or other medical prosthetics, like artificial teeth
4. Strength of metal-to-adhesive bonds
5. Strength of composite materials. A way to reduce or eliminate failure at the interface, which is the most common failure mode for composite materials

When you figure out how to do it with a laser, let us know (with a rotating crystal perhaps), and if it is a commercially viable technology discussed on slashdot, I'll bitch and whine when the first poster misses the point entirely. This isn't personal. I just couldn't pass on the need to set you straight because almost everyone will read the first post.