Velcro car crash repairs

It would make an interesting episode of Dragon's Den. "So tell us about why you're here today."

"Well, Duncan, it's my vision for the future of the automotive industry: Velcro."

"Just what do you mean by Velcro. This better be good. You don't need to be a genius to realise that Velcro and motors just shouldn't mix. It would be a disaster. Could you imagine the car crashes, the no win, no fee claims?"

"Trust me. This is no disaster. It's a brilliant feat of engineering. Let's call it reinventing Velcro and making it just as, if not more, ingenious and iconic than it already is today."

While the Dragon's Den scenario might be fantastic, the Velcro innovation isn't. A team from the Institute of Metal Forming and Casting at Technical University Munich has announced that it has developed a Velcro-like invention that has the potential to transform many aspects of heavy industrial engineering.

Called MetaKlett, the technology is made from steel, and harnesses the "hook and loop" catching system now synonymous with Velcro.

And, although the hooks and loops on MetaKlett are a tiny 0.2mm thick, they can support as much as 35 tonnes per square metre and retain enough flexibility for very versatile application. Initial reports would indicate that, far from being a car crash hazard, automotive Velcro could really turn out to be "ingenious".

Multiple applications
The technology of MetaKlett could also be utilised in other ways: commercial construction, bridge construction, machinery process - the possibilities are seemingly endless.

Among its many benefits, the system, built from high-grade steel, can withstand infernally high temperatures and extremely corrosive chemicals.

A spokesperson from the institute in Munich comments, "The unbeatable advantage of a hook and loop fastener is that it is easy to close and open again.

Things can get very hot, for example, in the automotive sector. A car parked in direct sunlight can reach temperatures of 80 °C, and temperatures of several hundred degrees centigrade can arise around the exhaust manifold," said Mair.

"Aggressive disinfectants are used for cleaning purposes in hospitals, and traditional hook, and loop fasteners are too weak for use in the construction of building façades."

It is hard to ignore the appeal the innovation holds for the imagination of my inner-ten-year-old. I love the idea of dismantling then assembling my Velcro-built car as if it were a lego kit - it would be useful if it suffered damage in a car crash. I also love the idea of renovating my house by doing nothing more complex than just peeling a few walls away and moving them to where the feng shui takes me.

And my imagination is in overdrive, transfixed even, by the idea of, on this warm late-summer's day, just peeling the office wall back and letting the sun pour in until it is time to go home! Wouldn't that be simply amazing!


Can I claim?