3M
™
Reclosable Fasteners
Design Selection Guide
M.A.P
.
for
1
Success
fastening
Align
Markets
and
Applications
with
3M
Products
to increase your productivity
and improve your product design,
function, and appearance
3
Markets and Applications
General Industrial
• Attach plastic and screen enclosure panels
around automated equipment in temporary
manufacturing cells
• Attach acoustic control panels to sound
containment enclosure
• Hold access panels to manufacturing
equipment, control panels, HVAC units,
electrical enclosures, electronic equipment,
and elevators
• Attach moveable sensors
• Hold remote controls on equipment for
storage when not in use
• Fasten rigid or flexible solar panels
• Attach decorative panels and circulation vents
to refrigerators
• Hang tools on maintenance carts for ready
access and secure transport
POP, Display, and Signage
• Attach metal L-bracket edging to hold rigid
graphics panels and prevent light leaks on
internally-illuminated sign
• Hang graphics and banners for trade
shows and in-store promotion
• Attach repositionable shelving for
retail display and museum exhibits
• Attach product samples to trade show backwalls
and retail display cases
• Attach literature dispensers
• Secure carpet to trade show floors, walls, and
counter facings
• Attach flexible retail signage for products that
change frequently with the season, holiday,
popularity, or promotional focus
Specialty Vehicle and Transportation
• Fasten headliners and ceiling panels in
over-the-road truck cabs, buses, ambulances,
and recreational vehicles
• Hang ceiling light diffusion panels in light rail
cars and buses
• Hang equipment on ambulance walls
• Secure removable seat covers and cushions
in ambulances
• Attach door and wall panels in truck cabs
• Suspend privacy curtains in truck cabs
• Attach air bag cover in trucks and cars
• Attach decorative liner to interior SUV cargo areas
• Attach ceiling, wall and cushioning panels in
cargo and horse trailers
Furniture
• Assemble modular office wall panels
• Attach fabric-covered cushions to chair
seats, backs, and arm rests
• Attach cover plate to wire and cable channels
in modular office walls
• Secure window shade to header rail
• Fasten institutional furniture seats and backs
to metal frames
And more
• Architectural/Construction flooring, carpeting,
lighting, and decorative panels
• Marine and yacht carpeting, seat cushions, and
wall panels
• Sporting goods such as securing helmet
cushions, closing tent flaps, and assembling
hunting blinds
• Medical gowns and equipment such as
orthopedic braces
2
M.A.P. for Fastening Success...
simple 4-step process
With this step-by-step guide you can more easily
align
Markets
and
Applications
with a 3M
reclosable fastener
Product
to help improve your
product and process.
and closing, attaching and detaching.
Consider even converting a permanent closure
to reclosable one.
Step 3: Select adhesive performance
Select from multiple adhesive backings to best
match different substrates and environmental
conditions. Or, select plain-backed versions.
Step 2: Select closure strength
Step 1: Challenge traditional thinking
Lose the screws. Consider 3M Reclosable
Fasteners to replace screws, bolts, nails, rivets,
welds, and other traditional fastening methods in
many applications involving repeated opening
™
Based on the specific construction of each 3M
™
Reclosable Fastener, select from a wide range
of holding strength to match the weight of
surfaces and stresses of use.
Step 4: Combine, test, and evaluate
Combine closure strength and adhesive
performance to determine the right fastener(s)
for testing and evaluation. See charts on pages 5-8.
1. Challenge
traditional
thinking
Lose the screws...
as wells as
the nuts and
bolts, snaps,
latches,
nails, zippers,
clasps,
wingnuts,
and welds.
Think 3M First for expanded options to improve design and function
• Range of closure strengths and thicknesses
• Hold together even dissimilar substrates, then
attach and detach multiple times easily
• Choice of plain-backed or pressure sensitive
adhesive-backed to bond to many surfaces
even LSE plastics
• Reliable performance in hot, cold, wet, sunny,
and other difficult environments
• Colors to accent or clear to blend for aesthetics
• Save the weight of metal fasteners
Attach cushioning to
horse trailer divider.
Think 3M First for smooth, clean surfaces to improve appearance
• Hidden beneath the surface for greater
design flexibility
• No nail or screw heads, snap caps, weld marks,
or breakable teeth
• Maintain surface integrity with no holes to
invite moisture, corrosion, or dirt
• Sleek appearance for competitive advantage
Invisibly attach fascia
to painted metal valence.
Think 3M First for faster, easier application to save time and labor
• Pressure sensitive adhesive options stick on
contact as quickly and easily as tape for quick
installation without special tools
• No drilling, screwing, tightening, sewing, or
complex process
1-800-362-3550
www.3M.com/fasteners
• Quickly and easily adjust or reattach until
precisely aligned
Attach access panels
to industrial, electronic,
and electrical equipment.
3
2. Select closure strength
based on fastener construction
3M
™
Dual Lock
™
Reclosable Fasteners
• Mushroom-shaped stems on one side of the
fastener interlock with identically shaped stems
on the other side for 5X greater closure strength
than hook and loop; peel apart for opening
• Pressure sensitive adhesive-backed versions*
bond on contact to a variety of flexible and rigid
materials; choice of specialized adhesive
properties (see charts on pages 5-8)
• Choice of stems per square inch:170, 250,
400 (higher the combined number, greater
the closure strength–see chart at right)
• Larger the fastener area, greater the strength
for holding weight and resisting shear and peel
• Low profile option for a snug fit with about
half the thickness of the standard products
Effective combinations; strength increasing left to right
170/250
250/250 170/400
250/400
3M
™
Dual
Lock
™
Fastener
Low profile
21
Strength
Increase
Liner
Adhesive
3M
™
Dual Lock
™
Fastener
Type 400
Interlocking stems
Adhesive
Liner
3M
™
Dual
Lock
™
Fastener
Type 250
3M
™
Dual Lock
™
Fastener
Type 170
3M
™
Hook and Loop Fasteners
• Stiff hooks on one side of the fastener mesh
with pliable loops on the other side for secure
closure; peel one side away for opening
• Pressure sensitive adhesive-backed versions*
bond on contact to a variety of flexible and rigid
materials; variety of adhesive properties
• The larger the fastener area, the greater the
strength for holding weight and resisting
shear and peel
Release liner
Release
liner
Loop with
pressure
sensitive
adhesive
3M
™
Hook
and Loop
Standard
thickness
FPO
3M
™
Hook
and Loop
Low
profile
• Low profile option for applications where
thickness is more critical than number of
closures; 75% thinner than standard product
with fewer openings and closings
Weight-bearing and
engagement holding strength
increases as you move up
from 3M
™
Hook and Loop
through 3M
™
Dual Lock
™
Fasteners.
* Non-adhesive versions available.
Hook with
pressure
sensitive
adhesive
4
3. Select adhesive performance
Rubber, Acrylic, or Non-adhesive
For the application ease of a PSA tape, a variety of adhesive backings are available to meet
production and end use criteria (see charts starting next page). Consider rubber or acrylic.
Rubber Adhesives
Acrylic Adhesives
Surface Energy
• High initial adhesion upon contact
• Quick stick adhesion
• Good shear strength
• Narrow operating temperature range
• Fair moisture resistance in end use
• Some solvent resistance in end use
• Fair UV resistance for indoor use
• Fair initial adhesion upon contact
• Build-up over 72 hours to strong adhesion
• High shear strength
• Wide operating temperature range
• Excellent moisture resistance in end use
• Excellent solvent resistance in end use
• Excellent UV resistance for indoor and
outdoor use
• Excellent aging performance
HSE
High Surface
Energy Substrates
Adhesive "wets out" the surface.
Higher the surface energy, better
the bond performance.
Metal
Copper
Aluminum
Tin
Stainless Steel
Glass
Plastics
Phenolic
Nylon
Alkyd Enamel
Polyester
Epoxy Paint
Polyurethane Paint
ABS
Polycarbonate
PVC Rigid
Acryli
c
• Moderate aging performance
• Bonds well to a variety of LSE materials
• Bonds well to HSE materials
including plastics and powder coated surfaces including metals and HSE plastics
Non-adhesive versions
3M
™
Dual Lock
™
Fasteners are also available as non-adhesive or non-woven backed rolls, or rigid-backed
circles or strips.
Plain-backed 3M
™
Hook and Loop Fasteners are
available for sewing to the fabric and leather of
jackets and gloves.
Back-to-back 3M
™
Hook and Loop Fastener
SJ3000 meshes with itself as a replacement for
string, tapes, rubber bands, wire, and strapping
.
O
Energy Substrates
LSE
Low Surface
Considered “hard-to-bond” since
the adhesive “beads up” and does
not readily “wet” the surface.
Plastics
PVA
Polystyrene
Acetal
EVA
Polyethylene
Polypropylene
Polyvinyl Fluoride Film
Surface Contact
Rolling down the fastener on a clean and dry substrate increases adhesive flow and contact for more
secure bonding. Contact and adhesion will build over time until reaching ultimate strength.
Powder coated metal is also LSE.
5
