“The technology resources at our Tillsonburg, Ontario, Canada facility and Malaysia Technology Center did an excellent job in designing and validating the customer’s proposed design,” said Vinay Nilkanth, vice president global sales aerospace, Simrit. “Not only did this global collaboration develop a solution that met the customer’s final requirement, but the seal design also outperformed the competition’s seal.”

The single-piece seal met the customer’s technical requirements, as well as general door requirements, which included ease of opening and accessibility during service and maintenance. Additionally, the seal provides low temperature capability and successfully satisfied the customer’s load deflection and closure force conditions.

The Tillsonburg plant – Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies’ oldest manufacturing facility – designs and manufactures aerodynamic seals and sealing products, including engine seals, thrust reverse seals and door and window seals, for commercial aircrafts and jet engines. The facility was named a United Technologies Corp. Supplier Gold Award winner for three consecutive years (2009 – 2011). Opened in 2005, the Malaysia Technology Center is an engineering development facility that provides vital technical around the clock support to improve turnaround times both locally and globally.

Simrit is part of Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies and offers an extensive portfolio of precision-manufactured products for the aerospace, agriculture, appliance, construction, energy, fluid power, mechanical power generation, mechanical power transmission and recreation markets. Simrit’s global sales exceed $1.3 billion. For more information, visit the Simrit website at www.simrit.com.

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For more information visit the Aerospace market section of Simritna.com or contact your Sales Representative!

“The expanded AS9120 certification to Revision A provides Simrit the global recognition of being a reputable supplier and is an accepted industry benchmark that we’re proud to have achieved,” said Vinay Nilkanth, vice president global sales aerospace, Simrit. “As a result of this accomplishment, we’re able to better meet the expectations of our global aerospace customer base.”

The AS9120 certification was specifically written by the aerospace industry in a concerted effort to improve quality and assure the integrity of suppliers to the industry. The AS9120 designation requires suppliers to focus on the areas impacting logistics, safety and reliability, and defines requirements for batch and lot traceability, records, airworthiness and evidence of conformance.

“In addition to the immense customer benefits, the certification validates Simrit’s commitment to continually improve our processes and operational efficiencies, which are key tenets of the Simrit culture,” said Stuart Campton, sales director, aerospace Europe, Simrit. “We’re dedicated to continuous improvement and this recent designation is another demonstration of that commitment.”

The Lutterworth facility provides warehouse and logistics services to key European aerospace customers and U.K.-based industrial customers. Earlier this year, the company’s Santa Ana, Calif.  facility achieved the AS9100 recertification for product design, further expanding Simrit’s global aerospace capability.

Simrit is part of Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies and offers an extensive portfolio of precision-manufactured products for the aerospace, agriculture, appliance, construction, energy, fluid power, mechanical power generation, mechanical power transmission and recreation markets. Simrit’s global sales exceed $1.3 billion. For more information, visit the Simrit website at www.simrit.com.

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“Silicone is an ideal material for the aerospace industry due to its ability to withstand extreme high and low temperatures, environmental hazards and common aerospace fluids,” said Vinay Nilkanth, vice president global sales aerospace, Simrit. “Simrit is able to combine silicone’s unique advantages with our extensive knowledge and capabilities in material development to create customized solutions that often times exceed specifications and customer expectations.”

Simrit’s latest material innovation is a vulcanized, high-temperature silicone rubber material used in a variety of aircraft applications, including grommets. The material is splash resistant to deterioration when exposed to typical aerospace fluids and suitable for a temperature range of minus 55°C to 260°C (intermittent to 300°C). With a minimum tensile strength of 600 pounds per square inch, the material also demonstrates excellent elongation (350 percent) and a Die B tear strength (45 pounds per inch).

Also included in the portfolio is Simrit’s proprietary low-density silicone material. Developed as a cost-effective solution that provides superior weight reduction for global aerospace customers, the AMS 3302 and AMS 3303 material offers a 15 to 20 percent weight savings over similar materials. With a specific gravity of less than one, it is an ideal solution for numerous sealing applications, including airframe seals, without sacrificing other physical properties.

For environments requiring fireproof solutions (2000°F / 1094°C at 15 minutes), Simrit has developed a fire barrier silicone material that does not require expensive fabric layups, such as ceramic and aramid. Providing a cost-effective solution with maximum value, the seal can be manufactured without fabric with a minimum thickness of .250 inches (6.35 mm) down to 0.032 inches (.81 mm) by utilizing one layer of fiberglass fabric.

Additional information about Simrit’s silicone solutions will be available at the Simrit booth (#C19) located in hall 3 at the 49^th International Paris Air Show held in Le Bourget, France from June 20 to 26 or visit www.simrit.com.

Simrit is part of Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies and offers an extensive portfolio of precision-manufactured products for the aerospace, agriculture, appliance, construction, energy, fluid power, mechanical power generation, mechanical power transmission and recreation markets. Simrit’s global sales exceed $1.3 billion. For more information, visit the Simrit website at www.simrit.com.

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The demanding operating conditions encountered in today’s gas turbine engines, along with increasing environmental concerns, have created the need for an alternative to conventional labyrinth seals. As a result, brush seals were developed to accommodate the radial movements of the dynamic rotor shaft due to the flexibility of their bristles. Additionally, the free length and angle of the bristles, as well as the wire diameter, can be customized to the given applica­tion to optimize seal stiffness, resulting in low wear and leakage, and a potential reduction in fuel consumption.

Designed for gas sealing applications primarily in jet aircraft engines and gas turbines, Simrit’s circumferential segmented seals are ideal for high-performance equipment where large axial shaft movements, space requirements, weight reduction and / or efficiency are major concerns. Containing a set of segmented carbon rings that contact the shaft (or runner) to form a circum­ferential dynamic seal, they also serve a wide range of applications in rotating machinery, such as compressors and blowers.

Compact mechanical seals are stationary, “face” type seals designed for a variety of applications, including aircraft engine accessory gearboxes and main shafts, hydraulic pumps, starters, compressors, industrial generators and other high-speed rotating machinery. Uniquely, Simrit offers custom-engineered seal configurations, as well as previously developed and proven materials and designs to meet customers’ varying needs.

Simrit’s static metal ACTISEAL seals are used between surfaces that have little or no movement to prevent the passage, flow or leakage of a gas or fluid. Offering a substantial track record of success in solving leakage problems, the ACTISEAL line consists of three solutions, ACTISEAL–C, ACTISEAL–E and ACTISEAL–W, to match varying customer needs.

Additional information about Simrit’s jet engine seals will be available at the Simrit booth (#C19) located in hall 3 at the 49^th International Paris Air Show held in Le Bourget, France from June 20 to 26 or visit www.simrit.com.

Simrit is part of Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies and offers an extensive portfolio of precision-manufactured products for the aerospace, agriculture, appliance, construction, energy, fluid power, mechanical power generation, mechanical power transmission and recreation markets. Simrit’s global sales exceed $1.3 billion. For more information, visit the Simrit website at www.simrit.com.

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“Based on our test results and simulated component tests, we knew that the E454 material was a quantum leap over competitive materials when we commercialized it in 2006,” said Dr. Robert W. Keller, materials development manager, Simrit. “Today, our E454 compound not only meets the demanding requirements of NAS-1613 Rev. 5 in all commercially available phosphate ester hydraulic fluids, but it significantly outperforms competitive materials in both simulated and actual application systems.”

 The hydraulically boosted primary and secondary flight controls are critical to modern commercial aviation, as they provide the basic abilities of the aircraft to fly, turn, climb, descend and stop. As a result, all aspects of the systems – including the sealing technologies – are vital to passenger safety.

“To ensure the consistency and quality of the product, we only manufacture the E454 compound at our Santa Ana, California AS9100 and Nadcap-certified facility,” said Vinay Nilkanth, vice president of global sales, aerospace, Simrit. “This allows us to manufacture the highest-quality products for our customers’ crucial needs.”

As a result of its superior composition and performance, several major commercial aircraft manufacturers and suppliers have chosen the material over its competitors. As an example, Simrit’s E454 O-rings were chosen exclusively by a major manufacturer of flight control hydraulic power units and were evaluated with the latest Type V (AS1241) phosphate ester hydraulic fluids in a wide body commercial aircraft. After several thousand hours of service and several hundred complete flight cycles, the Simrit E454 O-rings were examined and found to be in “as new” condition in terms of dimensions and physical properties. Competitive O-rings had shown issues with wear and compression set under similar circumstances.

Additionally, a major manufacturer of components for phosphate ester hydraulic flight controls switched all of their components to Simrit E454 O-rings to solve leakage issues on a variety of commercial airliners. The Simrit O-rings were selected after the competitive O-rings were not able to perform despite several re-designs and two years of trial-and-error evaluations.

Additional information about Simrit’s E454 O-rings and sealing systems will be available at the Simrit booth (#C19) located in Hall 3 during the 49^th International Paris Air Show held in Le Bourget, France from June 20 to 26. 

Simrit is part of Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies and offers an extensive portfolio of precision-manufactured products for the aerospace, agriculture, appliance, construction, energy, fluid power, mechanical power generation, mechanical power transmission and recreational markets. Simrit’s global sales exceed $1.3 billion. For more information, visit the Simrit website at www.simrit.com.

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“Our friction and abrasion solutions offer reduced friction and greater abrasion resistance for lower cost while providing improved sealing versus other solutions,” said Vinay Nilkanth, vice president global sales aerospace, Simrit.

 To address abrasion concerns associated with such things as aerodynamic seals, Simrit developed the low-temperature polyurethane solution. Offering a brittle point of minus 59°C, this 70 durometer, high-tensile material has a tensile strength of 4,000 pounds per square inch. The Tear Die B (300 pixels per inch) material also demonstrates superior adhesion and bonding to substrates and elongation in excess of 400 percent.

During the show, Simrit will also showcase its low friction / low static coating for door seals and low pressure dynamic seals, as well as applications where “nipping” occurs. The new coating dramatically reduces surface friction and stiction to silicone rubber. The coating offers excellent cohesion to silicone substrates and release properties, and can be easily applied to finished components.  Unlike traditional coatings, Simrit’s solution does not affect the “sealability” of the silicone surface and can be incorporated for minimal cost on existing components.

As an example, an emergency exit door seal was nipping on closure due to friction. The solution was to add the coating and this successfully eliminated the nipping, but did not reduce the sealability.

For additional information about Simrit’s abrasion and friction solutions, visit the Simrit booth (#C19) located in hall 3 during the 49^th International Paris Air Show or visit www.simrit.com.

Simrit is part of Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies and offers an extensive portfolio of precision-manufactured products for the aerospace, agriculture, appliance, construction, energy, fluid power, mechanical power generation, mechanical power transmission and recreational markets. Simrit’s global sales exceed $1.3 billion. For more information, visit the Simrit website at www.simrit.com.

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The AS9100 standard was designed to address the complex and unique demands of the aerospace industry, and emphasizes process and service safety, as well as product quality and reliability. The expanded product design scope of the certification is key to making the Santa Ana facility a self-contained “one-stop shop” for Simrit’s aerospace products.

“This certification is an important milestone and integral part of our strategy for the Santa Ana facility to become the global lead center for the aerospace industry and other industrial market segments.” said Carsten Mueller, global lead center manager, O-rings Industry, Simrit. “The facility has been AS9100 registered as a manufacturing site for several years, but this expands the responsibility to include product design as well.”

The new standard allows the facility to serve as a full lead center for Simrit’s global aerospace customers, including design, engineering, production / manufacturing and “cradle to grave” capabilities. Customers can go from product design to product verification to production quote to full production in one facility. This simplifies the product flow from concept and design to full, serial production and underscores Simrit’s continual commitment to waste elimination and lean principles.

With more than 30 years of experience in the manufacturing of aerospace O-rings, plate seals and molded shapes, Simrit’s Santa Ana facility is Nadcap approved for critical aerospace applications (the first O-ring plant in the world to receive this prestigious certification). The facility houses an American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) certified laboratory and produces nitrile, ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM), silicone, fluorosilicate, fluorocarbon and per fluorinated elastomeric components.

Simrit is part of Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies and offers an extensive portfolio of precision-manufactured products for the aerospace, agriculture, appliance, construction, energy, fluid power, mechanical power generation, mechanical power transmission and recreational markets. Simrit’s global sales exceed $1.3 billion. For more information, visit the Simrit website at www.simrit.com.

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The sheet can be found by selecting the “Brochures” tab and then clicking the drop down “EPDM” under the “Material Properties Sheets” listing or is available for PDF download here.

Simrit’s E454 black compound is intended for NAS-1611-XXXA and NAS-1612-YYA (A-code) series O-rings. Developed by Simrit in 2005, the E454 compound is applicable for the following applications: commercial aircraft hydraulic flight control units (primary and secondary); power units and pumps; and aircraft braking systems.

Certification was achieved after a major manufacturer of flight control power units requested the material be tested to the NAS 1613 specification. As a result, the material was tested on all type 5 fluids, making Simrit the only material supplier with this type of testing knowledge.

“Our latest certification highlights Simrit’s dedication to developing and manufacturing sealing materials that meet our customers’, as well as the aerospace industries’, demanding needs,” said Dr. Robert Keller, materials development manager, Simrit. “In the case of our E454 compound, the material’s test results were one of the key reasons a leading aerospace manufacturer chose to work with us. This is just another example of how Simrit products consistently meet the needs of the evolving aerospace industry.”

The NAS 1613 specification covers elastomeric seals used in phosphate ester hydraulic fluids, which are widely used in aircraft for hydraulically boosted primary and secondary flight controls and hydraulic brake systems. The seals involved are especially critical, since leakage of the phosphate ester hydraulic fluid is flight safety critical for hydraulic controls in all stages of the aircraft operation (taxi, take-off, climb, cruise, descent, landing and braking).

Because of the highly critical nature of these seals, the NAS-1613 specification is one of the most rigorous and extensive in the sealing industry. The specification was written to assure long-term seal performance through a wide temperature range from the frigid air of high altitude cruise flight to the extreme high temperature of anti-lock braking during landing. While there are many firms that manufacture O-rings, very few opt to participate in this specification because of the rigorous requirements for the material.

Simrit is part of the Freudenberg and NOK Group Companies, which have total annual sales of more than $7 billion. The global Freudenberg and NOK Group offers an extensive portfolio of precision-manufactured products for the aerospace, appliance, automotive, marine, medical, off-highway equipment, recreational vehicle and renewable energy markets. For more information, visit the Simrit website at www.simrit.com.

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Editor’s Note: For a high-res image or test data of the E454 compound, please contact Adriana Ferrari at 248-269-1122 or aferrari@bianchipr.com.