Unmanned Vehicles: Seals, Gaskets, and Insulation for Marine Environments, Commercial Drones, and Accessories
Unmanned vehicles need custom seals, gaskets, and insulation that can withstand marine environments. Commercial drones and the electronics cases that are used with them also need reliable sealing and insulation. Elasto Proxy, a leader in custom-fabricated rubber products, can provide unmanned vehicle OEMs and their suppliers with value-added manufacturing that includes design assistance, help with material selection, prototyping, and low-to-medium volume quantities.
Previous articles in this series have described Elasto Proxy’s capabilities with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs). In the conclusion to this three-part series, we’ll take a look at how Elasto Proxy can solve sealing and insulation challenges for unmanned surface vehicles (USVs), unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs), and commercial drones. We’ll also take a look at sealing and insulation solutions for unmanned vehicle accessories. (more…)
Unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) need rubber UGV gaskets that can help protect sensitive electronics from high heat. UGVs also need weather-resistant door and hatch seals, and custom gaskets for cameras and LED lights that can handle extreme temperatures while keeping out water and dust. Manufacturers of UGV electronics, vehicle bodies, and imaging systems must meet different requirements, but custom fabrication can solve sealing and insulation challenges across the UGV supply chain.
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) need rubber gaskets that can protect UAV components from environmental conditions, flexural fatigue, and electromagnetic interference (EMI). Manufacturers of antennas, avionics, and airframes face different sealing and insulation challenges, but custom fabrication offers the UAV supply chain a value-added solution. Elasto Proxy, a leading supplier of specialty rubber products, custom-fabricates the rubber gaskets that unmanned systems need.
HVAC maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) organizations need replacement parts for air handling units, air conditioners, boilers, chillers, heat pumps, furnaces, humidifiers, dehumidifiers, and other types of HVAC equipment. HVAC MROs also need to source these replacement parts in low-to-medium volume quantities that meet requirements for cost and quality.
Railcar products for passenger trains include custom seals, gaskets, and insulation for vehicle interiors and exteriors. Railcar interiors require specialized rubber products that meet flame, smoke, and toxicity (FST) standards. Railcar exteriors need reliable sealing and insulation solutions that can withstand tough environmental conditions while protecting passenger health and safety.
Mass transit maintenance organizations need to make cost-effective repairs to buses and trains. Public transit authorities and maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) companies also want to source replacement parts in low-to-medium volume quantities. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) can supply these custom rubber products, but usually at higher prices than sourcing managers want to pay. The minimum order quantities (MOQs) may be more than maintenance crews need, too.
Rubber gaskets for mobile equipment provide sealing and insulation for doors and windows. They prevent the entry of outside air and water, but also absorb road and engine noise. For mobile equipment manufacturers, the right rubber gaskets need to provide both environmental sealing and acoustic insulation. Otherwise, unwanted sounds can enter the cab where the operator sits. Seals that admit wind, water, dirt, or outdoor temperatures are problematic, but so is 
Skylight seals from Elasto Proxy can meet requirements for dead loads, live loads, local maintenance loads, and wind compression loads.
Military gaskets provide sealing and insulation in some of the world’s most demanding environments. Marine applications include amphibious landing craft, battleships and submarines, and radar and sonar systems. Aerospace applications include aircraft, unmanned systems, satellites, and radar. Military gaskets for land systems are also used in armored vehicles, tanks, tankers, trucks, and onboard electronics.
Medical grade gaskets made of platinum-cured silicones are used in medical devices and equipment. Elasto Proxy custom-fabricates these rubber gaskets from an ultra-clean line of silicones that are FDA, USP Class VI, and RoHS compliant. At our manufacturing center near Montreal, Canada, we use water jet cutting to convert elastomers with speed and precision. Because there are no tooling charges, water jet cutting is ideal for prototyping and producing low-to-medium volumes of medical grade gaskets.
