Getzner GC Material Polyurethane Foam Seal

Background

One of PGC’s customers is a leader in advanced fluid handling and dispensing equipment, and they needed help with a new product that required an IP65 rating. With years of history together, we had a selection of materials in mind that could work in this new assembly. Thankfully, PGC is set up to quickly get customers materials and prototype parts for their IP65 water ingress protection testing needs.

Challenge

There weren’t many bolts securing the assembly together, so the right combination of density and thickness was vital to seal the assembly without causing the fasteners to strip. PGC was accustomed to providing material and part solutions to this customer. Still, the only way to know how a gasket or seal would perform in this application was to test it in the assembly under environmental conditions. Testing would be crucial to distinguish which material, density, and thickness would work best.

Solution 

With the customer’s design experience and PGC’s material options, we teamed up to identify a set of material densities and thicknesses to begin testing. With the many methods of material processing available, PGC was able to make a set of prototype gaskets from various materials quickly. With the first set of prototype parts swiftly completed, our customers could conduct testing, identify leak paths, and modify their design for additional testing.

Result 

After trials with the various densities and thicknesses, the customer could center in on the perfect seal for the application. Too thick or dense, and the assembly would strip screws. Too thin and light density, and there wouldn’t be enough crush to seal the electronic unit properly. With PGC’s ability to select from a vast inventory of material options, skive to exact material thickness requirements, and selection of machines for converting gasket and seal materials quickly, this fluid equipment customer achieved a winning combination of testing and production parts. Following up, the assembly completed a more strenuous IP69 testing rating for even better performance and use.