Remember rolling up to a toll plaza on a busy highway and fumbling around for some cash to pay the toll?
No? Me either.
Thankfully, the technology developed in the late 1980’s known as Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) has made motoring a lot simpler and safer since then.
For millions of drivers, it means their car can pass through a toll lane equipped with a “reader” that collects and transmits customer account status electronically to a toll agency and charged the correct amount against the account of the motorist. Typically mounted with a clear 3M™ Dual Lock™ fastener on the inside surface of the windshield in the upper center, the electronic tag operates silently and reliably year-round as the vehicle passes through toll plazas equipped with a corresponding agency reader.
The E-ZPass Program, the largest, most successful ETC program anywhere in the world consists of toll agencies/companies in nineteen states, servicing more than 32 million accounts with 49 million tags, and 3,642,530,980 transactions in 2021 alone.
Equally reliable in keeping all these transponders in place to do their work 24/7/365 in temperature extremes and under the sun’s UV rays is the 3M™ Dual Lock™ Reclosable Fastener. This industrial strength fastening solution works like hook and loop products and is lightweight but has as much as five times the tensile strength. It features interlocking mushroom-shaped stems that "snap" together for strong fastening on one side and, with the appropriate 3M adhesives, can be securely adhered to various surfaces. In the case of an E-ZPass ETC unit, it is the windshield glass and the plastic transponder case.
In addition to toll transponder placement, 3M™ Dual Lock™ Reclosable Fasteners are also a smart alternative to traditional fastening methods like nuts, bolts, and screws. They can solve a myriad of attachment challenges both indoors and out. Cushioning panels can be attached to a bus or ambulance, access panels can be affixed to industrial, electronic, and electrical equipment, and signs can be placed on glass, powder coated paint, and other material surfaces.
If your design calls for a strong, reliable fastening solution, our Gleicher 3M™ Dual Lock™ Reclosable Fastener product specialists have outstanding knowledge and expertise in solving design problems in situations like these and many, many more. Depending on your requirements, we can cut 3M™ Dual Lock™ Fasteners to your size and shape. We stock rolls in 45- and 50-yard lengths with and without adhesive in a wide range of widths all the way up to twelve inches.
Before the wrong fastener decision takes its toll on you, get the Gleicher team involved early in your design and engineering process.
Call us at 908-233-2211 or email sales@gleicher.com.
