Author: Steve Melito

This author has written 985 articles

Military Vehicle Insulation

Military Vehicles

Thermal acoustic insulation is used in the floors, doors, side panels, and engine bays of military vehicles. Many different types of insulating materials are available, but you don’t need to be a material scientist to make the right choice. By choosing an experienced custom-fabricator who provides design assistance and help with material selection, you can strengthen your product designs as well as your supply chain. That’s why the North American defense industry asks Elasto Proxy for thermal acoustic solutions. (more…)

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How to Seal Your Success at AUSA 2016

Meet Elasto Proxy at AUSA 2016Defense contractors trust sealing and insulation solutions from Elasto Proxy, a custom-fabricator of low-to-medium volumes of rubber and plastic parts. For over 25 years, our ISO 9001:2008-certified company has been providing custom solutions like these for major military programs:

– Rubber seals for vehicle doors, windows, and hatches

– Military gaskets for generator sets and other equipment

– Vibration mounts for sensitive electronic displays

– EMI connector gaskets that meet M83528 requirements

– Personal protection pads for confined spaces such as tanks

– Thermal and acoustic insulation for engine compartments and cabs

– Specialty seals for engine exhaust and amphibious equipment

– Partitions for engine exhaust and amphibious equipment

This October, Elasto Proxy will join other leading members of the defense supply chain at AUSA 2016, the largest land power exposition in North America. If you’re headed to this important event and serious about solving sealing and insulation challenges, request a meeting with Elasto Proxy. (more…)

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Silicone Hatch Seals Resist Compression and Temperature

Silicone Hatch Seals | ST-375-23-SM
Silicone Sponge ST-375-23-SM

Elasto Proxy custom-fabricates silicone hatch seals for demanding applications. These specialty gaskets support superior sealing with good compression set and temperature resistance.

Gasket designers want rubber hatch seals that are as tough as the vehicles, equipment, and infrastructure that need them. If a hatch seal can’t withstand compression, it may over-compress and admit wind, water, dirt, or mud. If a hatch seal can’t withstand a wide range of temperatures and outdoor environmental conditions, seal failure can result, too. If you need hatch seals for military vehicles, mobile equipment, marine applications, or HVAC systems, there’s plenty to think about. Fortunately, help is available.

For every hatch seal design, compound selection is critical. As readers of this blog learned last March, choosing the right rubber won’t stop enemy fire, but choosing the wrong rubber can result in over-compressed hatch seals on military vehicles. That’s why although neoprene rubber offers an excellent balance of material properties, this elastomer wasn’t the best choice for the military gaskets that Elasto Proxy inspected. After examining the results of over-compression, we recommended silicone sponge rubber seals instead. Is this same elastomer right for your application, too? (more…)

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Military Vehicle Gasket Materials

Have you ever wondered why the military uses so many acronyms? It’s because soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines need to convey information quickly, accurately, and efficiently. That’s why suppliers to the defense industry are also more likely to hear a term such as “MRAP” than the phrase “mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicle”.  For defense contractors who want to win new business, mastering these acronyms can be like learning a new language.

Like any specialized discipline, gasket design has its own language, too. For example, many rubber gaskets are made of synthetic elastomers with names such as Buna-N and EPDM. Published specifications such as ASTM D2000 use letters and numbers to “call out” the properties of vulcanized rubber in a highly-structured way. Units of measure such as durometer (hardness) are sometimes unfamiliar, so buyers and designers may need assistance in order to translate the language of rubber into project specifications. That’s just part of how Elasto Proxy can help. (more…)

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ZMT Insulation Resists Heat, Sound, Fire, and Chemicals

thermal acoustic insulationZMT insulation from Elasto Proxy is a thermal acoustic composite that also resists fire and chemicals. Applications include firewalls and engine bays.

Elasto Proxy custom-fabricates silicone composites that combine thermal and acoustical insulation with resistance to flame and fire, chemicals and oil, and electrostatic energy. These multi-layer materials consist of a silicone foam, neoprene skin, aluminum facing, and pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA). Applications for Elasto Proxy’s ZMT insulation include the firewalls and engine bays in mobile equipment and military vehicles. ZMT also meets flame-resistance requirements for the mass transit and aviation industries. (more…)

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Thermal Acoustic Insulation for Reducing Heat and Sound (Part 2)

thermal acoustic insulation

This is the second in a two-part series about thermal acoustic insulation from Elasto Proxy, a global supplier of specialty “insulation sandwiches” that reduce both heat and sound.

Elasto Proxy custom-fabricates thermal acoustic insulation for applications such as mobile equipment and military vehicles. These multi-layer composites meet your application requirements for a complete sealing and insulation solution. They also meet your business requirements for value-added products that are cost-effective, reliable, and easy-to-install on the assembly line or in the field.

In Part 1 of this series, we examined why diesel-powered vehicles and equipment need insulation with both thermal and acoustical properties. We also examined how heat and sound travel, and some of the insulating techniques that are used.  In Part 2 of this series, we’ll examine two thermal acoustic products (ZTBRA and Z3T) that illustrate Elasto Proxy’s capabilities. Specialized services such as edge sealing for washdown-capable engine bay insulation complement our lamination and water jet cutting skills. (more…)

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Thermal Acoustic Insulation for Reducing Heat and Sound (Part 1)

thermal acoustic insulation

This is the first in a two-part series about thermal acoustic insulation from Elasto Proxy, a global supplier of specialty “insulation sandwiches” that reduce both heat and sound.

Thermal acoustic insulation is used to reduce heat and sound in commercial, industrial, and military applications. In manufacturing and processing facilities, this multi-functional insulation is used with machine enclosures, pipes, and valves. On-road and off-road, composite structures that include both thermal and acoustic materials are also found in the floors, doors, side panels, and engine bays of mobile equipment and military vehicles.

Many different types of insulating materials are available, but you don’t need to have a PhD in material science to make the right choice. In this two-part series from Elasto Proxy, you’ll learn why you need thermal acoustic insulation, how thermal insulation and acoustic insulation work, and about two solutions from Elasto Proxy that may be right for your application. You’ll also learn how we manufacture these two products, and how we can custom-fabricate a specialty “insulation sandwich” to satisfy your application’s particular appetite. (more…)

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Closed Cell Sponge Rubber Gaskets

closed cell sponge rubber gaskets

Closed cell sponge rubber gaskets from Elasto Proxy don’t just meet your application requirements for sealing and insulation. They meet your business requirements for a value-added solution.   

Closed cell sponge rubber gaskets prevent the flow of liquids and gases to and from the environment. They contain nitrogen-filled cells and provide reliable sealing, cushioning, gap filling, and insulation. Most sponge or expanded rubber is lightweight, flexible, and compressible. Over-compression can cause gasket failure, however, so compound selection is critical.

As an experienced gasket fabricator, Elasto Proxy helps you choose the right rubber for your application. We then custom-fabricate gaskets that save you time and money. Many types of closed cell sponge rubber are available, and different compounds provide particular properties. These sheet materials and rubber extrusions also support water jet cutting, adhesive bonding or splicing, and taping for peel-and-stick gaskets. (more…)

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Custom Skylight Seals Case Study

Custom Skylight SealCustom skylight seals need to meet demanding environmental and load testing requirements. When a skylight company faced a sealing challenge, Elasto Proxy provided the perfect solution on a tight timetable.

Skylights are specialized windows that builders install in a roof or ceiling. They admit natural light, provide a visual connection to the outdoor environment, and support passive solar heating. Skylights can help reduce energy costs, but their benefits go beyond sustainability. For example, the giant domed skylights found atop some commercial buildings are designed to enhance the occupants’ overall experience. By combining art with infrastructure, these complex structures truly illustrate the art of sealing. If a skylight fails, however, property damage and personal injury may result. (more…)

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