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Science Experiments / Re: How to research/invent a new product?
« on: 07/01/2015 09:10:49 »Velcro works very well. The inventor's inspiration was burdock. It's good for kids' shoes, hot-air balloons, and just about every soft material in between.
That's true - velcro was a very good idea.
It is more expensive and not as durable as a zipper - plus the noise level using it is higher and it can't be water resistant.
Ziploc packaging comes in several forms, one of which uses nanoformed ridges and valleys in soft plastic to maximise the contact surface area between opposing sheets.
That is something that comes very close to a zipper, but doesn't seem to have the mechanical shortcomes of a zipper.
But I tested plenty of ziplock bags and if they are very cheap and very small, it's sometimes difficult to lock them - I suspect the pit and the land there are just too small to fit easily or be securely locked.
What is the annoyance about zippers? I'm a great fan of them. Less so with velcro for outdoor use as it tends to get clogged with grass.
It can be a bit of fiddling around sometims if the zipper doesn't lock easily and properly. Some zippers are really smooth, others aren't.
Zippers come in different quality. Over years, they wear out - sometimes they open in the middle of the zipper by applying a pulling force (like putting many things into a backpack or getting caught on a door knob with the jackets pocket or similar - ever had a jacket or pants where the zipper opens/doesn't stay zipped? It costs like 20 EUR to exchange the zipper (repair) and 30 EUR to get a complete new garment - that leads to more trash and a shorter product life cycle.
If zippers are used in rain/muddy situations (bike bags/gear) dirt can be caught between teeth and the zipping mechanism will be interrupted.
At dresses one always has to be careful with ones better parts hair - since they can easily be trapped.
A zipper is a very good product. It has been on the market aroun 100 years and the whole wide world uses it. But there hasn't been much improvement within those 100 years but technology and science got way further - so I just assume there could be some hidden solution to the next level of fixing cloths.
You need to specify the tightness and strength of the seal you want. Just to stop things flapping (buttons and toggles are great!), windproof, waterproof, with as much tensile strength as the fabrics?
Buttons and toggles are good but slow and inconvenient. But as velcro tape as well, they have their right to exist and are used in certain applications.
windproof, waterproof would be good, flexible like a zipper, easy to sew on, impossible to wear out or very easy and cheap to change. The product should be better than a zipper.