Hook and loop straps are everywhere. They’re in every market and have every conceivable use. As an example, who would ever guess that a brightly colored hook and loop strap would be used to clearly identify cows that need medical treatment?
I’ve written extensively about Halco’s converting capabilities using hook and loop, but what I didn’t fully appreciate is how often its customers request a custom strap to be manufactured by Halco. Straps are particularly prevalent in the medical industry, used in many orthopedic and sports injury products, patient positioning solutions for beds, surgical tables, and stretchers, and for securing ventilator and CPAP masks, as well as many other uses including blood pressure cuffs.
But hook and loop straps are also used in a wide variety of general industrial, defense, construction, and display/graphics industries.
Examples of their use include:
- Bundling of construction materials, wire harnesses, and cable
- Products for the military, firefighters, police, and first responders including tourniquets
- Assembly of booths, displays, tents, and awnings
- Aids in sports training and fitness equipment
- Securing and cinching hydraulic hoses
If you’re an engineer or product designer, it might be helpful to understand the different kinds of straps and how they’re constructed. The most slot gacor common types of straps are cinch straps, back straps, face straps, and double face straps. You could also consider a die-cut hook and loop cable tie to be a type of strap.
Back strap. A back strap has a short piece of hook that is sewn or welded to a longer strip of loop to form a cuff or band. These straps are typically used for bundling of cable, wire, hoses and other thin tubing. When the strap is wrapped around the bundle, the loop faces up, the strap is pulled tight and the hook pressed down onto the loop to secure it.
Face strap. Face straps are different in that the hook material (the shorter length) and loop (long length) are welded or sewn both facing in the same direction. Unlike a back strap that is coiled into a cuff or band when secured, a face strap is shaped into a “U” and then secured onto itself. This kind of strap is often used for hanging materials (like a cable bundle) and may feature a grommet.
Double face strap. A double face strap consists of a length of loop facing up with smaller pieces of hook secured on both sides. This type of strap might be used to secure hoses or hold two skis together.
Cinch strap. A cinch strap provides the highest shear strength by featuring a plastic or metal buckle on one end of the loop strap and hook on the other. The loop portion is sewn or welded around the buckle. The strap can be wrapped around the bundle, the loop side inserted through the buckle, then pulled tight and secured. These kinds of straps can be made for both light and heavy-duty uses. For heavy-duty straps, a metal buckle is used and webbing can be used to reinforce the hook and loop material.
Die-Cut Strap. A die-cut strap uses a self-engaging back-to-back hook and loop material with a hook on one side and a loop on the other. One side of the strap is wider with a small slot cut into it. The other side is cut to an angle point. The strap is wrapped around the bundle or object, then inserted through the slot, pulled tight, and secured back onto itself. These die-cut straps are frequently used to secure cable bundles and wire harnesses and are an alternative to plastic cable ties.
Custom Strap Solutions. There are endless variations of these straps and additional ways to customize them. Some customers, who prefer stronger straps, may ask to have polypropylene, nylon, or polyester webbing material sewing into them. Customers in the medical, sports or personal care markets may need straps to be made out of stretchable elastic loop material. Consumer products, retail, and other highly branded companies might want custom printing done on either the hook or loop materials. Hardware features may include a grommet or a buckle.
Whatever your need may be for a custom strap, Halco has both the specialty hook and loop materials and the converting capability to make the strap you need. Call one of our sales engineers today to learn more and have Halco make you a prototype.
