The birth of a fastening empire
The secrets of vertical integration
The hidden physics of the zipper
A tiny giant in a globalized world
Which classical simple machine does a zipper slider use to mesh and unmesh the teeth?
sonia Melt brass and build machines to discover how Yoshida controls zipper quality in-house.
sonia YKK engineered airtight zippers that have been used on NASA spacesuits since the historic Apollo missions.
In which historic space program did YKK zippers first help protect astronauts in space?
What type of zipper uses a continuous plastic spiral that can easily self-heal if misaligned?
sonia Specialized zippers are engineered to withstand extreme temperatures, chemicals, and deep-sea pressure.
Space zippers: The zippers used on NASA spacesuits are so tightly sealed that they can withstand up to double the atmospheric pressure of Earth.
What high-tech, fire-resistant material does YKK use to make zippers for firefighters?
A fastening device consisting of two parallel tracks of teeth that interlock when a slider is pulled. The Japanese company Yoshida Kogyo Kabushikikaisha has manufactured roughly half of all global zippers since 1934.