2015/09/11

Success Secured With Loctite

Threadlockers Drive Specialty Vehicle Innovation

For both a high-performance off-road racer and a car with 49 parts, every part must work every time, and Loctite threadlockers make sure fasteners do their jobs.
Local Motors, a technology company, faced two different challenges when it set out to build two very different vehicles: the Rally Fighter, a high-performance off-road machine; and the Strati, a 3-D printed electric-powered car that had just 49 parts. To meet both challenges, Local Motors turned to Loctite threadlockers.
Making sure the Rally Fighter could withstand racing in extreme conditions without constant maintenance was a challenge. So was eliminating from the Strati many of the 25,000 or more parts found in a normal car.
Off-road racers like the Rally Fighter are subject to jarring bumps and vibration that can shake loose even the sturdiest nuts and bolts. And every one of the Strati’s 49 parts is critical, so making sure those nuts and bolts stay tight was essential to realizing Local Motors’ concept for Strati. 
Applying Loctite threadlockers to those fasteners gave Local Motors confidence that once their mechanics tightened a bolt or screw, it would stay tightened, even under the challenging conditions of off-road racing.
“People think about putting it together but they don't think about how to make it stay there, and when we introduce them to Loctite they're exposed to a world they never knew before,” said Jay Rogers, Local Motors’ co-founder and chief executive officer. 
In addition to 3-D printing, Local Motors’ business model includes new concepts in crowd-sourced design and co-manufacturing, being flexible in its designs, and, as in the case of the Strati, going from concept to driving in four months. Local Motors credits Loctite with helping make that possible. 
More information about Loctite: www.loctite-success.com
About Local Motors
Founded in 2007, Local Motors combines co-creation and micro manufacturing to bring hardware innovations to market at unprecedented speed. Local Motors’ global co-creation community is made up of enthusiasts, hobbyist innovators and professionals. It operates a growing global network of micro factories. 
About Loctite Threadlockers 
By filling the thread roots and preventing side-to-side movement, Loctite threadlockers have dramatically increased the reliability of threaded assemblies for over 60 years. New advancements provide higher temperature resistance, improved oil tolerance and primerless performance. Loctite is a brand of Henkel Adhesive Technologies, the leading solution provider for adhesives, sealants and functional coatings worldwide.

Loctite is a registered trademark of Henkel and/or its affiliates in Germany and elsewhere.

Henkel operates worldwide with leading brands and technologies in three business units: 
Laundry & Home Care, Beauty Care and Adhesive Technologies. Founded in 1876, Henkel holds globally leading market positions, both in the consumer and in the industrial businesses, with well-known brands such as Persil, Schwarzkopf and Loctite. Henkel employs about 50,000 people and reported sales of 16.4 billion euros and adjusted operating profit of 2.6 billion euros in fiscal 2014. Henkel’s preferred shares are listed in the German stock index DAX.

Photo material is available at http://www.henkel.com/press

Contact	Daniela Schenkel	Holger Elfes	
Phone	+49 211 797-99 47	+49 211 797-99 33	
E-mail	daniela.schenkel@henkel.com	holger.elfes@henkel.com

Henkel AG & Co. KGaA

The following material is available: 
Threadlocker Loctite 242 makes sure nuts and bolts stay tight.

The Rally Fighter is an iconic vehicle that has attained legendary status because it allowed Local Motors to show the world that co-creation and micro manufacturing was possible.