Clam inspired “industrial Velcro” invention

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The humble clam, and the way it attaches itself to rocks via hooks on the end of silk-like filaments, was the inspiration behind the ABCs The New Inventors 2008 Invention of the Year.
Queenslander Dean Cameron was reading a book to his son two years ago and was intrigued by the way clams are able to use the tensile strength of filaments called byssus threads to attach themselves to rocks. This confirmed the mechanical holding principle he was experimenting with to invent the Joinlox joining technology.
Joinlox uses a series of interlocking hooks, joined together by a sliding key, which locks the hooks together. The hooks on Joinlox replace shear forces with much stronger tensile forces, dramatically increasing the strength and water-tightness of the join.
Cameron says Joinlox is a simple, new alternative to traditional joining methods such as nuts, bolts, screws, welding or gluing. One of The New Inventors judges said she felt like she was present at the birth of industrial velcro.
It can be used for a wide range of applications, from building tanks and boxes to electrical enclosures, large pipes, bridges, cars, planes and even mission-critical aerospace projects. Cameron has already been approached by many manufacturers and designers across a range of industries wanting to use his technology to overcome joining problems.
The technology saves a lot of materials and energy for mechanical assembly, and dramatically saves time. It also saves transport costs because it means that products, like water tanks, can be stacked and transported, then assembled on site without the need for specialist equipment or expertise.
Cameron had previously been an episode winner on The New Inventors for his Biolytix Sewage System, which uses worms and natural decomposition in large plastic tanks to cleanse waste. This uses 90% less energy than high-energy aerators. Biolytix went on to win The Asian Innovation Award 2007 (Earthmover, December 2007).
Cameron says he invented Joinlox largely by default. Four plastics experts told him that it was impossible to economically transport water tanks in parts and assemble them on site. That was all the challenge I needed, he said. Inventors dont like accepting no for an answer. So I set to work.

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