Performing action...
Performing action...
Conventional window seals are constructed from a thermoset rubber compound requiring multiple manufacturing steps -- extruding the rubber, curing the rubber, and applying a friction reducing flock tape.
Our client, Advanced Elastomer Systems (AES), targeted its Santoprene® thermoplastic rubber (a single step, co-extrusion process) to the automotive window seal market.
SE/ALD™
Systems Engineering / Analysis Leads Design (SE/ALD™) leverages computer-aided design, analysis and manufacturing methodology in all phases of the product development process -- from early concept design stages to detailed component and system design.
ITI used non-linear ABAQUS FEA techniques to redesign a commercially available window seal for using Santoprene® thermoplastic rubber.
The process integrated a design methodology which analyzed an existing product to quantify selected performance criteria including assembly effort, window closing effort, sealing force, and extraction force.
Using these baseline parameters and the material properties of Santoprene thermoplastic rubber, ITI devised an extrusion geometry that delivered 20% material savings with equal or better characteristics as the incumbent.
Results
Incorporating the SE/ALD engineering process, circumvented the need to build costly extrusion tooling for the traditional design-build-test process. Coupling the material savings with its one-step extrusion process meant significant savings in manufacturing costs that could be passed on to the customer, creating an overall more competitive product.