Fasteners and Sealing
the gecko’s foot, tilting the small ‘columns’ at an angle to create the anisotropy. He points to a number of potential markets: space
travel, where the harsh vacuum of space can destroy conventional products; and in aqueous environments - which could include the inside of the human body. “It could be used to make special sutures, which
surgeons could ‘stick and replace’ in order to put them in the correct position,” he says.
Fig. 3. Rotite’s novel connector technology could be used across a range of industries – from aerospace and defence to cosmetics and medical ... even home DIY.
An initial product would probably take the form of a tape, in which the ‘sticky’ surface is protected until needed. But launching a commercial product is some way off as many challenges remain. “It would have to be made in a continuous process,
rather than the batch process we’re currently using,” he says. The next stage is to test the structures on substrates
with varying degrees of roughness, to see how large a ‘pad’ is needed to stick a certain weight to each surface. And, with the ‘molecular’ design all but finalised, he will also look for new materials that might improve the performance: he initially chose to use PU because it is commercially available and flexible enough to have a range of qualities. “We’re looking to fine-tune which polymer we actually use,” he says.
German stick Separate to this, other Fraunhofer scientists are working to produce adhesives from renewable materials. More than 820,000 tonnes of adhesive were produced in Germany in 2010, according to the German Adhesives Association. Most were derived from petroleum. A few renewably sourced adhesives are available, for products such as wallpaper pastes and glue sticks. In collaboration with Westfälische Hochschule, University of Applied Sciences and the companies Jowat, Logo tape, and Novamelt, scientists at
Smart Bonding Approach.
The route to your tailor-made adhesive solution.
What drives us: We make your world a better place with sustainable and innovative adhesive solutions! The Bonding Engineers stay by your side as competent partners from the moment the first concept is born. Individual adhesive concepts, a con- vincing product portfolio, efficient process integration and sustainable optimisation safeguard your success.
At Lohmann, we call this philosophy the Smart Bonding Approach. You can call it the perfect route to a tailor-made adhesive solution.
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Lohmann GmbH & Co. KG Phone: +49 2631 34-0 Fax:
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