Critical sealing applications in vehicles call for high performance plastics custom designed and molded by Minnesota Rubber and Plastics.

Transmission oil seals are a challenge to manufacture for heavy duty vehicles including city buses, garbage and dump trucks. Long and rugged service life for oil seal assemblies in these vehicles is required because they are continually immersed in harsh, automatic transmission fluid and operate over a temperature range from 40°F to 264°F (-40°C to 129°C).

To accomplish these high performance requirements, Minnesota Rubber and Plastics modified the oil seal assembly design and material using a high performance plastic polyetherimide (PEI) and a fluoroelastomer (FKM) 0-Ring. Multiple challenges were present, the most important of which were long-term strength requirements and the ability to seal correctly in a harsh operating environment.

In addition, the assembly had to withstand transmission oil exposure under alternating pressures for thousand of cycles. By choosing this high performance plastic and fluoroelastomer for the new design, Minnesota Rubber and Plastics provided the needed temperature, fluid and wear resistance along with close tolerance sealing features. The new seal assembly design also is more cost effective than the previous design using traditional materials.

Minnesota Rubber and Plastics offers comprehensive design services including engineering assistance and design review along with materials engineering for a full range of high performance plastics. The company also provides rapid mold design, development and prototype services, process engineering and injection, compression, transfer and liquid silicone rubber molding including metal-to-plastics conversions. These value-added services reduce
component assembly time, material usage, multiple vendor sources and capital expense.

Minnesota Rubber and Plastics has over 65 years experience serving a broad range of industries. It’s corporate-wide quality systems include: ISO 13483, ISO-TS 16949, and ISO 9000 in all facilities and it operates under a corporate-wide Environmental Management System registered to the International Standards Organization series ISO-14001.

Minnesota Rubber and Plastics
www.mnrubber.com