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Military Vehicle Thermal Acoustic Insulation

 thermal acoustic insulationIn 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…)

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Rail Car Door Seals

Rubber Door SealsIn this case study, you’ll learn how Elasto Proxy applied its expertise in seal design, compound selection, custom fabrication and logistics to supply rubber door seals for passenger rail cars. How can we help you solve your sealing and insulation challenges?

Manufacturers of mobile equipment need to source rubber parts that meet all of their application and business requirements. When a manufacturer of mass transit vehicles needed to replace the door seals on passenger trains, Elasto Proxy applied its expertise in technical design, compound selection, custom fabrication, and logistics. In solving this sealing challenge, Elasto Proxy improved the original seal design and helped the mobile equipment manufacturer meet the urgent needs of an important customer.

As the rail car manufacturer explained to us, the existing seals on some passenger cars had become worn and were leaking. The manufacturer’s customer, a major passenger rail service in the Northeastern United States, wanted to solve this problem quickly. In turn, Elasto Proxy needed to create new door seals in less than two weeks and send them to Philadelphia for installation. Since the “test train” for these replacement seals would remain at the station for less than 24 hours, ease-of-installation was also important. (more…)

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Specialty Seals and Custom Insulation for 2016

2016What are your New Year’s resolutions for 2016? Do you plan to get fit, lose weight, make new friends, or make more money? Just as importantly, how will you achieve your goals?

Here at Elasto Proxy, we share your excitement about the New Year. Like you, we also understand that success requires careful planning and consistent execution. If you’re looking to learn about specialty seals and custom insulation, this is the place to start.

So how will the Elasto Proxy Blog inform and engage you in 2016? First, let’s take stock of where we are.  (more…)

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Dual Durometer Rubber for Reliable Attachment and Stronger Sealing

Dual Durometer RubberElasto Proxy Designs and Custom-Fabricates Dual Durometer Extrusions for Rubber Parts

Dual durometer extrusions are industrial rubber parts with different areas of hardness. Typically, the harder rubber compound is used for attachment while the softer rubber is used for sealing.  Sometimes, different rubbers are used because of design considerations such product color schemes or the use of pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs).

By fabricating dual durometer rubber into a single part, a product such as window seal can have areas with different physical properties to meet application requirements. With window channels, the harder window rubber attaches to the window frame and the softer window rubber faces the glass window. Durometer is not limited to window seals, however, and is used with both sponge and solid profiles. (more…)

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Acrylic Foam Tapes for Infrastructure and Mobile Equipment

Acrylic Foam TapesAcrylic foam tapes provide durable bonding, superior sealing, and effective insulation. Learn about the advantages of these PSA tapes, how technical buyers and product designers select them, and how different types of acrylic foams tapes are used with infrastructure and mobile equipment.

Acrylic foam tapes provide dependable, cost-effective bonding, sealing, and insulation for infrastructure and mobile equipment. These double-sided industrial tapes have an acrylic foam core and use a high-strength pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) with a release liner. The foam core distributes stress evenly, and the PSA provides permanent attachment without metal fasteners, messy liquid adhesives, or time-consuming setup or curing processes. Are acrylic foam tapes right for your application? Let’s take a look. (more…)

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Why Custom Fabrication Is Better Than Cyber Monday

Video Splash - Cyber MondayFor consumers, Cyber Monday is one of the biggest on-line shopping days of the year. For industrial buyers, the real deals are about value – and that means custom fabrication. Learn how Elasto Proxy adds value to your projects with custom sealing and insulation.

Ten years ago, a Senior Vice President for the National Retail Federation coined a phrase that describes what’s become an international marketing sensation. Cyber Monday, the marketing term for the first Monday after U.S. Thanksgiving, is now one of the biggest on-line shopping days of the year. The day that Ellen Davis named is aimed mainly at consumers, but industrial buyers like a bargain, too. Price is important, of course, but so are features. Yet neither matter if a product doesn’t meet your needs.

Custom fabrication isn’t the same as ordering an off-the-shelf product. It’s not like buying off-the-rack clothes on Black Friday, or ordering a blender on-line on Cyber Monday. Yes, Elasto Proxy has a down-loadable catalog of extruded rubber products. You can buy lengths of standard extrusions from us, and we invite you to learn more about all of our product groups – including molded parts. Where Elasto Proxy really adds value, however, is by solving your specific sealing and insulation challenges. (more…)

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How Custom Fabrication Helps Manufacturers Enjoy the Holidays

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Click to Watch the Video

Industrial supply chains need to stay strong between Thanksgiving and the New Year. Learn how to make the most of your relationship with Elasto Proxy, an experienced custom fabricator of industrial rubber products.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Here at Elasto Proxy’s world headquarters in Boisbriand, Quebec, the leftovers are long gone from our Canadian Thanksgiving, which we celebrated on October 12 this year. Now it’s time for our Simpsonville, South Carolina office to enjoy a well-deserved holiday. Manufacturers have much to be thankful for this year, but consumer behavior will soon capture most of the headlines. What, if anything, can industrial buyers and design engineers learn? (more…)

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Trim Seal Compound Selection and Technical Design

Click to Watch the Bulb Trim Seals Video
Click to Watch the Bulb Trim Seals Video

Trim seals from Elasto Proxy are used for sealing and insulation, typically on doors and hatches. Learn about compound selection and technical design for these industrial rubber products. Contact us with questions.

Bulb trim seals are sealing and insulation products with bulb and retainer sections. The bulb portion is often rounded or teardrop-shaped, but may resemble a half-moon or have a flat bottom. The retainer portion of the seal has a U-shape with an open end and two “legs”. The bulb provides sealing and insulation under compressive force, and the retainer or trim section presses onto the flange or substrate.

Each section of the seal (bulb and trim) are made of different materials. In turn, each material has a different durometer or hardness to support compression. For technical buyers and product designers, it’s important to choose the right materials and account for design factors such as bulb size, gap or edge thickness, and minimum bend radius. The following sections explain. (more…)

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Rubber Meets Steel – Elasto Proxy Visits Pittsburgh

Video - Rubber Meets Steel
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Does your Pittsburgh-area company need to solve sealing and insulation challenges? Elasto Proxy is ready to help. Meet us in Pittsburgh from November 9 to 11, 2015. Request a meeting today.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is still nicknamed the Steel City, but there are no longer any steel mills within the city’s limits. During the 1970s and 1980s, the mills began to close and hundreds of thousands of jobs disappeared. Today, the Edgar Thompson Steel Works in nearby North Braddock is all that’s left of this once-mighty industry. Pittsburgh has re-invented itself, however, and now has a diversified economy that’s based largely on healthcare, education, and high-tech industries.

There’s a role for rubber and plastic in each of these sectors – and with steel, too. When Elasto Proxy visits Pittsburgh this week, we look forward to helping partners solve their sealing and insulation challenges. As an experienced custom fabricator, Elasto Proxy specializes in custom rubber and plastic parts for demanding applications. So whether you need rubber exhaust gaskets for stainless steel mufflers, plastic arms for industrial robots, or sanitary seals for medical devices, Elasto Proxy is ready to help. (more…)

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Why Robots Need Rubber and Plastic Parts

Robots Video | Rubber and Plastic Parts
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Rubber and plastic parts for robots are strong, lightweight, durable, and cost-effective. That’s not all.

When you were a kid, did you play with Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots? Part toy and part game, this childhood classic features two boxers – both robots – that are mechanically manipulated by the players. The Red Rocker and the Blue Bomber have been hitting each other since the 1960s, but today’s version of this simulated boxing match features less metal and more plastic. Plastics are generally lighter and cheaper than metals, but is plastic really tough enough for robots – even toy ones? Is rubber right for robots, too?

The answers may surprise you. (more…)

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