Posted by Mike Burris on | Comments Off on Material of the Month: Closed Cell Sponge Rubber
Here at CGR, we stock a wide variety of specialty materials, from unique adhesive solutions and flexible rubbers to custom-engineered fibers. During our Material of the Month blog series, we’ve been showcasing some of our favorite, most popular materials, outlining their unique features and exploring common applications.
Sponge rubber is unique in that it can be crafted in both open and closed cell styles.
Open cell rubber permits flow; air, water, and chemicals can all pass through the open network of pockets when the rubber is not compressed.
Closed cell rubber, or expanded rubber, contains balloon-like cells filled with nitrogen gas, which block the flow of air, water, and chemicals at low pressures.
Benefits and Uses
Because of its consistent, solid structure, closed cell sponge rubber offers excellent sealing performance, providing acid, flame, and oil resistance.
This rubber also features the following unique attributes:
Lightweight durability
High-performance cushioning
Reliable thermal and acoustic insulation
Shock absorption
Impact dampening
Tough sealing and weatherproofing capability
Armacell Monarch 3091 Sponge Rubber
A pure EPDM material, Armacell’s Monarch 3091 is an excellent example of a popular, low-density, high-performance closed cell sponge rubber. Manufactured with non-staining oils and antioxidants, Monarch 3091 offers fire, ozone, and elevated temperature resistance. It’s approved to meet the demanding requirements of automotive, industrial, and even military applications.
Sponge Rubber Applications and Industries
Sponge rubber’s versatility and reliable density allow for use in a wide range of applications, including:
Acoustic design and custom soundproofing
Lighting and electrical systems
Marine and weatherproofing projects
Power tools and generators
HVAC systems
Automotive components
Closed-Cell Sponge Rubber at CGR
At CGR, we are capable of skiving or splitting raw material up to 56 inches wide and 10” thick; materials can be split down to 0.062” thick. On most materials, we can cut with standard RMA tolerances or better.
We bring years of experience and expertise in lamination, sheeting, die cutting, and slit-to-width services, and we’re proud to offer a vast inventory of closed cell sponge rubber to meet the unique needs of all our clients. To learn more about open cell sponge rubber or discuss how we can help with your next project, reach out to the team today.
Posted by Mike Burris on | Comments Off on How Amorim Makes Cork Rubber
At Amorim Cork Composites — the world’s largest producer of cork and related materials — we’re committed to sustainability in everything we do: We recycle, reuse, and reinvent entirely natural and organic materials. Understanding the versatility and value of cork in numerous applications, we’re proud to supply companies worldwide with top-quality, reliable cork products.
The Versatility of Cork
Cork grows from the bark of the cork oak tree, which thrives in the hot, dry climates of Portugal, Spain, and North Africa. Cork oak trees are not harvested until they’ve reached 25 years of age. After the first harvest, the bark is removed about every nine years. These trees can live for over 200 years.
After the bark is harvested in sheets about 3 feet wide, 6 feet long, and 3 inches thick, it is cleaned to remove any impurities. Soon after, the cork is cut into strips and, most often, cored to create wine stoppers; this is the primary use of cork. In fact, over 15 billion stoppers are sold each year to the wine industry. The cork not used in the stopper industry is processed and used in various other applications, including construction, sealing, composites, home and office, and flooring.
In its natural state, cork is composed of many cells filled with air pockets, making it ideal for sealing applications. Cork compresses within itself with no side flow, creating a reliable seal impervious to most fluids. Classified as a post-industrial recycled material, cork has been used since the late 1800s for industrial sealing applications.
Cork Solutions at Amorim
At Amorim, we’re especially proud of our P46 cork material. Our most popular product, P46 features high density and low compressibility. It’s typically used in friction applications in which heat is generated by pressure, as well as clutch applications.
P46 is readily available in custom-cut sizes up to half an inch thick, with one or both sides sanded. To discuss how Amorim’s materials can help with your next project, contact us today.
How CGR Can Help
CGR Products has a long history of custom cutting and fabricating for a wide range of materials including cork and rubber. Our services include custom die cutting, waterjet cutting, kiss and knife cutting, and more. Visit our Resource Library for access to our many free guides, eBooks, and whitepapers, or check out our Case Studies to learn more about our full scale of materials and capabilities.
Posted by Chuck Keeley on | Comments Off on Using 3M Thinsulate to Manufacture Lighter, Quieter Cars
With mounting public concern over sustainability and increasingly strict fuel economy regulations, automakers worldwide are now focusing their efforts on lighter, more fuel-efficient vehicles. In fact, by 2025, automaker fleets in the United States and Europe will need to average more than 60 miles per gallon.
To meet these new guidelines, automakers must implement incremental improvements to reduce vehicle weight and improve efficiency. In this changing landscape, it’s imperative for automotive manufacturers to make use of lightweight, reliable materials.
At CGR Products, we’re proud to be an approved converter for 3M’s innovative Thinsulate material — an ideal option for acoustic automotive applications.
The Advantages of 3M Thinsulate in Automotive Applications
3M Thinsulate Acoustic Absorption Material provides a reliable acoustic solution for various automotive applications. Incorporating only a few square centimeters of the material into components during fabrication greatly improves sound insulation and allows for greater efficiency. The benefits of 3M Thinsulate for automotive applications include:
Quieter cars — Providing excellent acoustic absorption, especially for middle- to high-frequency ranges, 3M Thinsulate allows for overall quieter vehicle operation.
Lighter cars — Made of lightweight polyester and polypropylene non-woven fibers, 3M Thinsulate can be used to fabricate lightweight automotive components without sacrificing quality.
Easy bonding — This versatile material can be easily attached using ultrasonic welding, double-sided tape, or mechanical clips.
Resistance to moisture and mildew — Absorbing minimal moisture, 3M Thinsulate is water repellent and mold resistant, eliminating the risk of odor and obviating the need for additional waterproof layers.
Automotive Applications
Automotive manufacturers can use 3M Thinsulate in the fabrication of a wide range of car parts, including:
Doors
Interior panels
Seat backs
Luggage compartments
Headliners
HVAC equipment
Engine undercovers
Leaf cowls
3M provides a variety of Thinsulate insulation materials to meet the unique needs of these specific applications. The 3M Thinsulate HT Series, for instance, is designed to withstand high-temperature environments, such as engine compartments, while the SM Series easily compresses for use in tight quarters, such as the vehicle cabin and luggage compartment.
Learn More
With over 140,000 square feet of manufacturing and warehouse space and over 100 top-quality machines, CGR serves a diverse range of clients, including those in the automotive industry. To learn more about our capabilities within this field, download our automotive application guide, or visit our Sample Gallery to view a portfolio encompassing all the industries we serve.
Posted by Chuck Keeley on | Comments Off on New Year, New Videos! See What We’ve Been Doing at CGR
Water jet cutting, kiss cutting, custom die work — it was all on display at our Wisconsin Open House this past October.
Our team was on-hand to help guests get acquainted with some of these state of the art machines, and took the opportunity to chat about some of our most successful recent projects.
See for yourself by viewing the videos below about some of the projects we’ve worked on, shot live at the open house.
Seeking continuous improvement can sometimes present serious challenges — especially when it comes to equipment.
For this automotive customer, CGR assembled a diverse team for a tightly organized Kaizen meeting to help evaluate the existing process step-by-step.
As a result, we were able to develop five new, carefully controlled systems to fit the existing machinery that cut costs and enhanced production rates by 33%!
Working with specific requirements and tight tolerances can be a challenge for many companies. For this client, the product was being crafted with an acid-etched die. Our Account Manager and Quality Manager reached out to fine-tune the tolerance standards for this customer, and the team also updated equipment in order to streamline production.
In a recent project with a large automotive customer, CGR was asked to reduce costs while ensure production would not be delayed. CGR formed a Kaizen team to evaluate their current manufacturing process and developed several cost-saving ideas regarding tooling.
With some re-engineering of existing configurations and proactive cost evaluation, we were able to cut annual raw material costs by $26,000.
Repair costs in the field are expensive, stressful, and dangerous. One OEM’s gaskets were failing, so CGR found a superior material choice and design. By incorporating a laminated gasket with a metal core and bonded rubber compound, the team enhanced critical sealing performance and reduced costs in the process.
Difficult installation processes are one of the greatest gasket challenges, especially for large engines and power generators.
For this OEM, our product development team designed a multi-layer gasket for essential sealing performance with ease of installation in mind. The design has become one of today’s industry standards.
New EPA regulations meant that a hose manufacturer had to alter its assembly construction, and the changes came with a variety of challenges. From increased production costs to new leaking issues, their technicians were faced with a struggle.
We worked with new materials, new equipment, and an automation assembly machine to get the job done.
With over 100 pieces of professional equipment and a long list of success stories, the CGR Team is ready to tackle any gasket challenge. See more of our work on the Case Studies page, or reach out to the team today to learn more.
Posted by Chuck Keeley on | Comments Off on CGR’s Open House: Facility Tour, New Equipment and More
CGR Products will be hosting an open house at our Wisconsin facility — offering tours of our ISO 9001:2008-certified facility and showcasing our new high-quality equipment.
We want to show you our new state-of-the-art machinery used for our custom cutting and fabrication services. Our equipment is involved in a number of manufacturing processes, including die cutting, knife cutting, waterjet cutting and laminating.
New Manufacturing Equipment
One of the latest additions to our list of machines includes our new knife cutting Flashcut Flex HD.
The new Flashcut Flex HD is able to total cut, score cut, and kiss cut with a single knife chuck and rotating punches that can handle small diameter holes. Alongside this machine, CGR hosts a collection of other machines for waterjet cutting, custom die cutting, custom fabrication, and more.
Wisconsin Facility Tour
Don’t forget dinner & drinks!
Whether or not you can make our Open House, please join us Tuesday, Oct. 25, at Coopers Hawk in the Brookfield Square Mall. Cocktails will be served at 6pm and dinner starts at 7pm.
To learn more about the open house click here, or click the button below.
Posted by Mike Burris on | Comments Off on [INFOGRAPHIC] Insider’s Tips to Packaging Issues
An OEM’s guide to avoiding common packaging issues and eliminating unnecessary costs
While generally overlooked during production, packaging solutions have a significant impact on your project’s overall costs.
For OEMs requiring custom fabricated rubber, foam, and plastic products — such as gaskets, seals and tapes — there are a number of packaging solutions to not only reduce costs, but also protect the product during shipping. After cutting and fabricating these products for over 50 years, CGR Products put together an infographic that lists some of the common packaging problems we’ve seen customers encounter, followed by the solutions we offer to combat each of the issues.
The infographic includes solutions to problems such as:
Long processing times
Messy line assembly
High packaging costs
Slow data entry or inaccurate data
Overflowing warehouse
Excess parts or shortage of parts
And more
Check out the infographic below to find the solution to your issue.
Click image to enlarge:
Add this infographic to your website by copying and pasting the following embed code:
[Infographic] Insider’s Tips to Packaging Issues by CGR Products
Other Steps to an Optimized Supply Chain
Now that you know how to fix your packaging issues, take the next step to reducing product costs with an optimized supply chain. Our guide, How OEMs Can Optimize Their Supply Chain, offers six research-backed solutions to get you there, including how to manage your inventory properly and tips for selecting the most cost-effective supplier.
Posted by Mike Burris on | Comments Off on Rotary Die Cutting vs. Flatbed Die Cutting: Which Should You Use?
Die cutting is frequently used to fabricate unique shapes from rubber, plastic and foam materials.
Before starting a die cutting project it is important to discuss all specific project requirements — including whether rotary die or flatbed die cutting is the best fit for the job. Each cutting method has its own distinct benefits based on production size, costs, and material.
What is Rotary Die Cutting?
Main Benefits: Holds tight tolerances and ideal for kiss cutting
Best Used for: High-volume orders
How It Works: Rotary die cutting, a highly accurate cutting method, is very cost effective on high-volume orders and produces less waste compared to other methods. As shown in the video, the machine is fed a roll of material which is then passed through the rolling die. This cuts the desired shape from the material and the waste is disposed of into a catcher.
What is Flatbed Die Cutting?
Main Benefits: Provides a more cost-effective option with lower tool and die costs
Best Used for: General cutting and low-volume orders
How It Works: With flatbed die cutting, material shapes are stamped out using steel rule dies and hydraulic presses. This method allows for easy hole removal and web removal from parts, along with quick changeover times to increase efficiency.
Die Cutting with CGR Products
CGR’s team of engineers makes sure to match your project’s needs with the right die cutting machine for the job. The products we die cut from a variety of flexible non-metallic materials can be supplied in continuous rolls, sheet form, or individual parts for your unique application.
Ready to get started? Visit our Supplier Material Library to find your material and contact us about your next project.
Posted by Chuck Keeley on | Comments Off on 3 Reasons Manufacturing is Coming Back to America
Everyone is familiar with offshoring — the process of sending manufacturing projects across seas in an effort to save costs has been in practice since the 1960s.
But now a new trend is emerging called reshoring. Also known as “inshoring” or “backshoring,” reshoring manufacturing is returning previously offshored manufacturing processes back to America.
The original benefit of offshoring — lower production costs — is now dwindling as wages outside the U.S. increase. While offshoring may still allow you to reduce some cost to your product, you may actually be incurring more costs in other ways.
Reshoring carries a number of benefits by helping to reduce the unseen costs of offshoring.
Better Quality
In the United States, companies are incentivized by competitive market pressures to maintain strict adherence to relevant ISO and TS technical specifications, as well as standards from other standardization bodies.
Products manufactured from offshored components, however, may not meet the same quality as ISO-certified manufacturers in the U.S. Tolerances can be looser and fail rates can be higher. These substandard-quality parts can lead to increased replacement costs and even loss of business, cutting into your bottom line.
Significantly Faster Lead Times
Offshoring parts adds considerable lead time to your orders. A general timeline for an offshored part looks something like this:
2-4 weeks — Manufacturing time, varies depending on complexity and volume
~5 weeks — Shipment to an American port: while some parts can be shipped via air cargo rather than sea cargo, doing so comes at a considerable expense
~1 week — U.S. Customs approval
~1 week — Removal from bonded freight
1-2 weeks — Packaging and transportation to final destination, varies depending on location
With offshored parts or components, final delivery can come four months or even longer after order placement. In contrast, reshored manufacturing processes can finish and deliver parts in half the time or less.
Performance Guarantee
When you accept delivery of offshored parts, you never know what you are going to find. It can be incredibly difficult to trace the supply chains of offshore contractors. Certain offshore companies have even been known to use counterfeit materials, falsely branded with the logos of reputable suppliers.
With reshored manufacturing, tracking the provenance of all of your parts and their source materials is drastically easier, giving you the peace of mind that you are always receiving goods at the level of quality that you expect.
Learn More
If these three reshoring benefits are not enough to get you to consider reshoring your currently offshored manufacturing processes, there is one more to consider — the United States economy. By keeping vast amounts of raw material and manufacturing dollars in the U.S., reshoring as a whole can be a great boon to the American economy.
The Reshoring Initiative compiled job data from January 2010, the point of lowest employment in the manufacturing sector, to December 2015: they found that roughly 248,000 manufacturing jobs were created in America thanks to reshoring efforts.
Posted by Mike Burris on | Comments Off on Protecting Adhesive Materials During Humid Summer Months
Summer’s heat and humidity can be especially damaging to adhesive materials.
If not properly shielded , the siliconized release liner of your pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSA) will wrinkle and pucker in the heat — called cockling — resulting in overall production kinks and system failures.
With the start of summer rapidly approaching, protection of your adhesive materials is critical to ensure they perform well in your application year-round. That’s why we turned to Adchem Corporation for tips on how to defend products against the harmful effects of cockling.
Causes and Potential Damage
The nature and composition of PSAs make them susceptible to cockling, as 85% of release liners are derived from highly absorbent paper and wood pulp materials. In high humidity environments and during the hot summer months, these materials absorb the atmosphere’s moisture, making them swell and curl.
In addition to humidity, general fluctuations in temperature can cause cockling. These fluctuations create a harmful cycle in which the wood fibers dry out in elevated temperatures and condensate during the cooling process. The constant changes in both temperature and moisture ripen the material for cockling.
Either of these conditions can damage and ruin your material in the following ways:
Performance failure – Air pockets form, so the release liner no longer protects the adhesive, resulting in dried-out adhesive.
Fabrication issues – Wrinkles and creases in the first and second laminating process waste material and can clog converting equipment, such as die cutting and printing tools, during the manufacturing process.
Uneven adhesive performance – Inconsistent adhesive causes the liner to be pulled off during cutting, resulting in the creation of extra waste.
Increased costs – All of the aforementioned issues will drive up your overall cost.
Solutions
For enhanced adhesive material protection against cockling, OEMs should take the following precautions throughout the manufacturing process:
Use a more effective material such as poly-coated liners.
Use a higher-basis weight material with a layer of poly-coating on both sides.
Minimize the amount of heat applied to paper during manufacturing of the release liner.
Re-moisturize the release liner to mitigate drying and restore moisture levels.
Always store liners in a cool, dry environment.
Wrap plastic around both ends of each roll to keep moisture away and wrap the entire roll after a laminating job.
By taking these provisions, OEMs can help to protect the release liner, defend against cockling, and maintain the proper performance and appearance of the adhesive system.
Why CGR?
CGR Products proudly follows Adchem’s best practices for adhesive materials, ensuring your finished component is always prepared to perform at its best. Our adhesives are specially designed to withstand harsh conditions that lead to cockling, including extreme environments and temperatures.
Posted by Mike Burris on | Comments Off on Material of the Month: Silicone Rubber
CGR Products stocks material choices of all kinds — flexible rubber sheeting, adhesive solutions, and fiber materials are just the beginning of our specialty options.
Our Material of the Month series spotlights some of our favorite materials and their unique applications. This month, we’re discussing silicone rubber.
What is Silicone Rubber?
Silicone rubber is a unique, extremely flexible synthetic elastomer. It is extraordinarily versatile and relatively simple to manufacture, making it essential for industries ranging from automotive to home goods.
Materials and Properties
In addition to its outstanding ease of production, this unique material offers a wide range of specialized properties, including:
High and low temperature stability
Compression resistance
Tear strength and flexibility
Long-term tensile strength and elongation properties
Excellent insulation
Easy coloration and formula customization
Resistance to chemicals, fungus, ozone, aging, weather, and flames
Varying degrees of hardness and softness
Applications and Industries
Silicone’s list of applications is constantly growing — its versatility and accessibility make it particularly appealing to innovators across industries. Some key uses include:
Sealants and gaskets in the automotive industry
Door and window seals in aeronautics and aviation
Equipment in food and beverage applications
Gaskets in electronics and energy transmission
Sensitive, hypoallergenic tools in medicine and veterinary science
Using Silicone for Your Application
As flexible material specialists, the CGR team offers years of experience in converting silicone into components to fit specialty projects. Our in-house precision cutting services include rotary and flatbed die cutting, kiss cutting, slitting, splitting, knife cutting, and more.
For more information about silicone’s unique applications and fabrication possibilities, visit our Silicone Rubber material page.
