Lords of the O-rings
To create an O-ring capable of being stretched to bursting point and then returned to normal size while still maintaining its sealing capacity – that was the challenge!
Inflatable cushions
Our customer manufactures inflatable air cushions for the fixation and protection of goods during transport.
Empty cushions are inserted into the cavities among the stacked cargo and then inflated. The valve system of the cushions prevents them from deflating during long transports, where they are often subjected to pressures of up to several tons.
On reaching their destination, the cushions are deflated and can then be reused – time and time again.
The challenge
Having won the contract in fierce price competition, we were faced with several requirements that were almost impossible to meet.
During cushion production, the O-ring is stretched to five times its normal size by grips with a force of 3.5 kg. The O-ring is then positioned above the valve flange and the grips released. Following this considerable expansion, the O-ring must rapidly revert to its former size within one-tenth of a millimetre while maintaining its original sealing capacity.
The process – trial and error
No product within our standard range had such properties, and it was therefore necessary to develop a completely new product.
The challenge was to produce a new rubber compound with the required properties and then to manufacture O-rings from the material without destroying its special properties during the moulding process. And that wasn’t easy. It’s one thing to produce a few samples in a highly controlled manufacturing process. However, it is quite another – and much more difficult – to obtain the same perfect result when the product is to be massproduced.
It is extremely satisfying when the task is finally solved and we can see that our customer’s product works perfectly. Because then we have fulfilled our own mission statement: "Improving your products".
We had a rubber compound with the required properties produced. However, when we tested the massproduced product, we discovered that the flexibility of the O-rings had deteriorated during the manufacturing process. This we could not accept. We therefore had to go back to our subsupplier and repeat our requirements on the product. However, the conclusion was that a completely different approach was needed.
The solution
We finally found a compound – a completely new type of silicone – with exceptional elongation at break. A series of tests were performed on the new silicone – and were highly successful! We had developed a unique compound with precisely the properties our customer required.
We make a difference
Knowledge and perseverance are our success criteria. We see it as our duty to have knowledge of the world’s best and most innovative compound suppliers and processors. Together with such companies, we continuously develop our competences, allowing us to supply products with specific, well-defined properties. In other words: We supply solutions that work perfectly.
Benefits and objectives
While development is in progress, the work is often very frustrating. But it is extremely satisfying when the task is finally solved and we can see that our customer’s product works perfectly. Because then we have fulfilled our own objective, as expressed in our mission statement: "Improving your products". Something both our customers and we value greatly!