What Are Dual Lock Fasteners?

For many aerospace missions, the movement of the aircraft or the vibrations across certain systems threaten to disturb or displace parts that must be stabilized. The main solution employed to steady important parts is to use a fastener. The classic and most common type of fasteners used across bundling, blind fasteners, and fastening situations is the hook and loop model. Think of this style of fastener as the Velcro on shoes, with two tape strips designed to lay flat across one another and lock into place. Both strips have a flat surface which faces out and a textured surface to face the other’s matching surface. One of the textured surfaces is made of hundreds or thousands of tiny hooks in columns and rows. The other textured surface is made of columns and rows of corresponding loops. When the two surfaces are pushed together, the hooks catch in the loops in order to fasten together. While this model is highly efficient, it has certain drawbacks that have led to the innovation of the dual lock model in recent years.

The first issue that the dual lock fastener solves is the hook and loop style fasteners' quick deterioration period. The hook surface wears quickly as the hooks elongate over time. With each pull and snag, the hooks are stretched further outward which leads them to catch more easily on other surfaces. The dual lock model gets its name from the fact that the textured side of both strips are identical. Rather than a hook and a loop strip, this model boasts columns of mushroom shaped “locks” that click into place between one another. They are far more durable by design as they are essentially stretch-proof and snag-proof through their shape.

The second drawback of the hook and loop fastener that the dual lock fastener targets is the issue of lock stability. Hooks are likely to slide around or into the “incorrect” loop; however in the dual lock model, the mushroom-shaped locks slide and secure into place in perfect rows. Industrial strength dual lock fasteners form an essentially flawless bond and can be trusted to never disengage prematurely.

When purchasing a dual lock fastener, you can expect a roll of tape with two equal-length, similarly-faced strips with rubber or acrylic-based backings that are temperature, moisture, and UV resistant. With their design, such components are suitable for indoor or outdoor use. These strips adhere to various materials, including metals, plastics, and glass, and they reliably adhere to various irregular surfaces without shifting. This makes them useful for adhering control panels to surfaces and holding electronic gear, and they can even be used in the place of metal screws.

Not only is the dual lock model more reliable, but it is five times stronger than a classic hook and loop fastener. This impressive strength comes from the density of the stems and stem-heads, examples being available options with densities of 170, 250 and 400 stems per in². Different mixes of densities provide different results. For example, mating a 170 type with a 250 type provides a reasonably strong bond, while mating a 250 type with another 250 type would increase tensile strength by 60%. 250 types and 400 types may also be mated for optimal results, but all other combinations prove less effective for various reasons. Whether you’re headed to space or sick of detaching your shoe from random surfaces, a transition to dual lock fasteners could make your day much easier. Hence there are different types of aircraft fasteners.

NSN Components is a leading supplier of dual lock fasteners and other civil and military aviation parts as well as board-level components. We are owned and operated by ASAP Semiconductor and we are proudly AS9120B, ISO 9001:2015, and FAA AC 00-56B accredited. Reach out by phone or email or fill out an RFQ form today to get started on your purchase, and one of our around-the-clock expert team members will reach out within 15 minutes! We have a strict No China sourcing pledge and we proudly provide you with the highest quality parts available.

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1. alex marsh
2. Posted on April 29, 2022
3. aerospace fasteners

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