I’ve been researching this all morning and keep running into articles that explain why YKK is a great company and what is unique about their zippers, but no article that explains the technical design of the product.
Would love an explanation that goes beyond the very simple “YKK zippers actually lubricate themselves as you zip and unzip them.”
Thank you!
In: 2202
Brass itself is self lubricating and antibacterial.
That’s one reason it was used for so long (and still is) as door hardware.
Self lubricating describes the creation of a film between two surfaces. That film could be oil based or metal based. Certain plastics for example often slowly leak oils allowing for this. With metals you’d usually need something soft against a harder metal. As the soft metal rubs against the hard metal it would make sort of a metal dust. That dust is slicker than the bare metal.
Self lubricating describes the creation of a film between two surfaces. That film could be oil based or metal based. Certain plastics for example often slowly leak oils allowing for this. With metals you’d usually need something soft against a harder metal. As the soft metal rubs against the hard metal it would make sort of a metal dust. That dust is slicker than the bare metal.
Some materials move much smoother over eachother than others. As an example, rubber on concrete produces more friction than plastic on steel even if all the materials are smooth.
Steel on brass contact actually produces less friction than steel on steel contact without lubricants. When you look at typical cheap manufacturing materials (brass, aluminum, wood, steel, copper) it turns out that brass on steel produces much less friction than the other combinations.
Now, what holds the zipper closed is down more to the shape of the mechanism than the materials, but the materials ensure that they move smoothly over eachother when in use.
Self lubricating describes the creation of a film between two surfaces. That film could be oil based or metal based. Certain plastics for example often slowly leak oils allowing for this. With metals you’d usually need something soft against a harder metal. As the soft metal rubs against the hard metal it would make sort of a metal dust. That dust is slicker than the bare metal.
Some materials move much smoother over eachother than others. As an example, rubber on concrete produces more friction than plastic on steel even if all the materials are smooth.
Steel on brass contact actually produces less friction than steel on steel contact without lubricants. When you look at typical cheap manufacturing materials (brass, aluminum, wood, steel, copper) it turns out that brass on steel produces much less friction than the other combinations.
Now, what holds the zipper closed is down more to the shape of the mechanism than the materials, but the materials ensure that they move smoothly over eachother when in use.
Some materials move much smoother over eachother than others. As an example, rubber on concrete produces more friction than plastic on steel even if all the materials are smooth.
Steel on brass contact actually produces less friction than steel on steel contact without lubricants. When you look at typical cheap manufacturing materials (brass, aluminum, wood, steel, copper) it turns out that brass on steel produces much less friction than the other combinations.
Now, what holds the zipper closed is down more to the shape of the mechanism than the materials, but the materials ensure that they move smoothly over eachother when in use.
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After more than twenty years and I can finally understand this OutKast verse: “[Let me be bambino on your snipples YKK on yo’ zipper, lick you like a – lizard when I’m slizzard or sober; six million ways to fold ya](https://youtu.be/-JfEJq56IwI)”. Thanks OP!
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