A low key "snap" solved the problem of a metal-on-metal roar, secured a safety perimeter around thrashing robots, and defeated steel screws in a mushroom vs. thread competition.

"Snap" is the sound of assurance when pressing together the two sides of a 3M™ Dual Lock™ Reclosable Fastener. That's the sound of hundreds of mushroom-shaped stems interlocking with strength enough to replace screws, nuts, bolts, and other mechanical fasteners in many removable panel applications.

For example, rather than drill and compromise the integrity of thick sound abatement panels, a manufacturer used 3M™ Dual Lock™ Fasteners to hold the panels to a metal frame around noisy automated assembly equipment. The fasteners resist loosening from the constant vibration unlike a screw or nut and bolt. Another manufacturer attached clear polycarbonate to metal frames enclosing robotic arms in manufacturing cells that workers needed to observe occasionally without getting too close. Moving, reconfiguring, and reassembling the cells was easier with press-on fastening than screwing and unscrewing. On a subway car, convenient 3M™ Dual Lock™ Fasteners replaced screws for suspending maintenance access panels over passengers.

Other applications include securing truck bed covers, fastening solar panels, holding large graphic panels, attaching cover plates on wire channels, and securing cushioned panels in horse trailers.

Five pressure sensitive adhesive-backed versions offer choices for bonding on contact to a variety of flexible and rigid materials. From more than 20 products, designers and manufacturers can also select from a range of closure strength.