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AirBoss is proud to improve existing technologies and advance trends in ways that positively impact markets, regardless of the industry.
The company continues to innovate within the automotive, defense, and healthcare markets. Doing so takes time and resources, but the end result is often small changes with lasting impacts.
A recent advanced compound breakthrough in our automotive division improves fatigue life and reduces heat build-up in one of our advanced bushing compounds. This was a gamechanger for a client and a first for the company.
Trusting the AirBoss Process
AirBoss works with leaders in their respective industries to provide forward-thinking solutions to unique challenges. These forward-thinking solutions require a certain level of back-and-forth, during which AirBoss and clients test, revise, and improve custom compounds and rubber processing methods. This process can take months or even years.
Recently, an automotive client had issues with a new rubber compound used for a chassis bushing. Inconsistencies with molding, a lower-than-optimal fatigue life, heat build-up, and excess smoke during processing were all cause for concern. AirBoss made adjustments to the compound recipe and conducted durability and fatigue tests to find a solution.
During the year-long process, we reduced oils, added more polymers, and fine-tuned the custom rubber compound multiple times. After each new recipe was developed, we sent samples to the client.
Through this process of test, revise, and test again—and by having an open channel of communication with the client—AirBoss provided a final compound recipe that solved all the problems. This, in turn, provided new insights into the custom compounding process that AirBoss can implement for future projects.
Little Innovations Create Lasting Impacts
This isn’t the first time AirBoss adjusted compound recipes and fine-tuned recipe specs, and it won’t be the last.
Noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) are crucial product development factors that automotive component manufacturers wrestle with often. The goal is to minimize these factors through improved manufacturing and application techniques.
Fortunately, when you’re as focused on improvement as AirBoss is, it’s the little innovations that have lasting impacts.
Every method adjustment, recipe alteration, and processing improvement adds to a manufacturer’s expertise. It’s the culmination of the little improvements and big innovations that make AirBoss a leader in custom rubber compounding. It’s also what attracts new industry-leading clients and retains long-time collaborators.
Projects like the recent bushing challenge continue to improve AirBoss’s processes in ways that reduce turnaround time and sharpen compound processing methods.
“We learned lots of new things through this project,” says Steven Yu, Vice President of Compound Technology at AirBoss’s Compound Technology Center. Yu explains that improvements like the most recent one contribute to continued success in future similar projects.
“We understand what controls dampening and what controls heat build up,” he explains. “We had a lot of bushing formulations that didn’t work for this application. That’s why we’re calling this a breakthrough.”
New Technologies Provide New Opportunities
AirBoss is far from a one-and-done company. As new technologies and applications emerge, the company is quick to improve its methods to serve emerging industries.
This is especially true as markets like electric vehicles, defense, and healthcare continue to demand components and products that adhere to a higher standard of production and application. Fortunately, this is business as usual for AirBoss. New technologies are less of a problem and more of an opportunity for us.
We work with clients to fine-tune compound recipes and provide advanced custom compounds. This is what AirBoss does best.
