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…)
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…)
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…)
ZMT 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…)
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…)
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…)
QPL connector gaskets meet demanding DoD standards. This is the second in a series of technical articles about why defense contractors choose EMI gaskets from Elasto Proxy.
Some military contracts require QPL connector gaskets made from Qualified Product List (QPL) materials. The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) manages the QPL program, which is designed to ensure performance, quality, and reliability in mission-critical military electronics. Achieving a QPL listing is a demanding process, and not all material suppliers can meet DoD requirements.
For design engineers and technical buyers, sourcing QPL materials is only part of the challenge. In addition to compound selection, it’s important to evaluate a potential partner’s manufacturing capabilities. EMI gaskets that are made of particle-filled silicones support various fabrication methods, but designers and buyers need to pick a gasket fabricator with the right balance of experience and expertise. (more…)
M83528 Connector Gaskets for EMI Shielding is the first in a series of technical articles about why defense contractors are sourcing EMI connector gaskets made of particle-filled silicones. For over…
In this case study, you’ll learn how Elasto Proxy solved a sealing challenge for a manufacturer of military vehicles. The rubber hatch seals that we supply resist over-compression and demonstrate our defense industry knowledge and technical expertise.
Hatch seals for military vehicles need to meet multiple requirements. In addition to keeping out wind, water, dirt, and mud, these rubber parts must resist temperatures in environments such as arctic cold and desert heat. Rubber hatch seals need to withstand compression, too. If the vehicle’s hatch causes the seal to over-compress, the rubber part won’t provide proper sealing. Ultimately, this permanent deformation or compression set creates a gap and can cause seal failure. (more…)
In this case study, you’ll learn how Elasto Proxy applied its expertise in technical design, compound selection, and custom fabrication to replace the thermal acoustic insulation in the engine bays of military vehicles. How can we help you solve your sealing and insulation challenges? Contact us.
When a manufacturer of military vehicles isn’t satisfied with a product design, more than just the bottom line is at stake. For coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, armored fighting vehicles provide mission-critical force protection. Most military observers focus on features like the steel plating and the guns, but this type of vehicle won’t deploy anywhere without a big diesel engine under the hood.
In military vehicles such as armored personnel carriers, diesel engines run hot and loud. Without engine bay insulation, this heat and noise could put both the powerplant and military personnel at risk. Thermal acoustic insulation must also meet flame, smoke, and toxicity (FST) standards. In addition, engine bay insulation must withstand vehicle wash-downs and exposure to detergents and other cleaning chemicals. (more…)