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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'."
OUCH!!! I really wouldnt want to accidentally sit on that stuff. Think cactus spines that refuse to come out.
It will be interesting to see whether or not this actually makes it into production anytime in the near future (or even in our lifetime). I hope so.
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Simpy
That's pretty impressive, even if it's not the hook-and-eye structure that the word "velcro" first brought to mind.
I'm sure there must be other applications besides bonding that would benefit from increased surface area. Heatsinks, maybe?
That you can pull it apart?
If the bond on this stuff is so very very strong, then what advantages does it lend over, say, epoxy?
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Up to 10x the surface area of the sheet of metal? Sounds like it could make for a great low-profile heatsink. Of course, development costs could be prohibitive, but still...
Really? Strange, since the modern zipper was invented by Canadian Gideon Sundback.
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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.
Time is Nature's way of keeping everything from happening at once... the bitch.
it's not like dragging your finger through clay though
when you use the beam, then drag it, the metal will accumulate near the start point, not where the beam is
in all, it's a pretty cool application of physics, really, and deserves this patent
at least they're not trying to patent electrons
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This is the same technology that is used in CRT's, but scaled up a few orders of magnitude in power. And a computer just draws shapes with it, like an old vector graphics screen. Not just commercializable, it's easy to do.
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They say that they can get structures up to 2mm high and .2mm across, but that's under the influence of gravity. I wonder if this process would work in zero-G, and perhaps work better to create longer structures or different shapes for even stronger bonds?
This is very good news for composite fiber development. While composite has been exceptionally strong and light, it's difficult to find reliable ways to attach things to it. You basically have to build the fittings into the composite material. "Sticky-metal" fittings might make composites less expensive to use.
...
Does whatever a spider can,
Bonds to lightweight
Composites
Or other metal
Surfaces
Watch out!
Here comes the Spidermaaaaaan!
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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.
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"When we first realised we could do this we were absolutely gobsmacked," Dance says.
Brilliant! Those boffins have really done it now. Just a quick electron scan and Bob's your uncle!
gobsmacked adj. Nothing to do with punching people in the face (although I'm sure that's where it derives from originally), to describe someone as being gobsmacked means they're very surprised or taken aback.
From here.
Although I didn't realize that boffin was somewhat of an insult. That would have been embarrassing, interviewing for a position and referring to your interviewer as a boffin...
-Adam
The New Scientist magazine, back when I was in school in the early 80's, had a column on the last page of each issue, descibing the exploits of the mythical engineer/scientist Daedalus (actually David E H Jones.)
He had proposed doing exactly this, but with glass, back in one of these columns. It was exactly the same method and result.
It's not the first time that Daedalus's speculative inventions have turned into reality. A couple of books have been published collecting the best of Daedalus.
thad
I love Mondays. On a Monday, anything is possible.
JB-Weld, for those of you who don't know, is probably number one in the list of tools for rednecks and others (right next to duct tape, baling wire, and bubblegum) who need to make a repair fairly quickly, and want it to remain in place.
JB-Weld is strong - very strong. It is a two-part epoxy (comes in slow and quick setting versions) which I have yet to find an equal to.
My brother-in-law repaired the cracked housing of a blower off the diesel engine on his 10-wheel dump truck (it was alluminum, and he didn't have the equipment to properly weld it) - that repair lasted 5 years before he "retired" the truck (actually, the engine block cracked), probably would have lasted even longer...
I use it all the time - if it is something that I can't weld but I need to have it stay together (under heat, pressure, vibration, or other high stress especially) - JB Weld is my first choice. I have seen it hold shit together where you would swear it would have to be welded (more or less, it is - just an epoxy "weld") to stay together.
Now, I know this "metal velcro" is supposed to be an "industrial process" - meaning it will likely never be available for home use in the near future. I also know there are industrial epoxies. I wonder if any of them would beat the pants off of JB-Weld - though I wonder if JB is already an industrial epoxy packaged for "small project" use - I wish I could buy that stuff in larger quantities...
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I think you've got a point if you're just going to leave the surface exposed to normal air once it's been sculpted, but assuming that you weren't careless in storing it till it's used, then once the composite's been bonded to it, that should take care of any rusting problem, right?
This isn't meant for surfaces that are meant to stay exposed--it's a method to prepare them for some kind of further use, like composite bonding.
Interesting quality about velcro. If you replace the hooks with mushrooms, the loops grab under the head of the mushrooms and the fastening becomes permanent (i.e. you can't separate the two pieces).
I'm sure this version velcro is used in many areas. I became aware of it via a friend working in pest control. The nets he was using on buildings to prevent access by pigeons were fastened using this version of velcro.