Modern manufacturing often brings unique challenges that require more than out-of-the-box materials and solutions. At Sur-Seal, we partner with your engineers during product development to help your team solve real problems and identify valuable custom solutions. This guide provides an insight into our all-inclusive approach, covering everything from initial tear-downs and design-build assistance to our rigorous application testing.
Our Solutions Engineering team tears down products to identify ways to improve them or solve specific challenges. Our tear-down process is meticulous and thorough, involving dismantling existing units or purchasing a specific unit to tailor it to the client’s needs. Our team identifies the materials used by breaking down a unit and then searches for more optimal replacements. We also look for excess materials, a mix of materials, and scrap materials to simplify the design and improve cost efficiency.
When a customer sends us a unit, we have a conversation to understand where parts are sourced, if we can help supply them, what materials are used, where and why, and how we might combine parts to increase material usage and improve cost savings. For example, suppose we identify a material as silicon but understand the application and environment will not react properly to heat. The Solutions Engineering team will suggest a lower heat-tolerant material to save on costs.
The solutions engineering or sales team works with engineers at every step of product development, from new idea exploration to prototyping and value add/value engineering. This early involvement in the design phase ensures that every aspect of your build — from material selection to parts consolidation — is optimized for function and cost-effectiveness. The team helps identify solutions and materials that solve real-world challenges in the engineering process or identify potential cost- or time-savings with alternate materials. An example of what this process entails is as follows: if asked to design a new water heater, the process involves setting up regular calls, getting updates on samples, making tweaks and suggestions, and working through the entire design-build process, which can take six months to two years, depending on the industry.
Through this in-depth process, we can build strong relationships and solid trust with our clients, which makes us the go-to solutions provider for design-build assistance. Our long history of partnership allows us to add more value through a broader range of solutions, materials, and parts selection, such as 2D die-cut parts and 3D molding kits.
At Sur-Seal, we understand that your product’s operational environment is crucial. Our application testing goes beyond standard procedures, with rigorous, multiple tests that simulate real-world conditions to ensure that the selected materials and designs meet the stringent requirements of actual usage.
One challenge with testing standards is that the limits are based on material, which may not accurately reflect the customer’s application. For example, compression set testing allows for a different temperature range. Most material manufacturers test at room temperature, but this may not reflect the actual application. The solutions engineering team conducts tests at higher temperatures because that’s the range they will be exposed to in actual use. Ideally, our process involves testing materials side by side under each customer’s application, using the same equipment and tolerance levels.
Our typical process begins by testing the materials and their properties alone and side by side. But when seals have to interact with parts we have not supplied or designed, things can act inefficiently or yield unexpected results. For an ANC-standard test, air handler units have to be sealed up and can only allow a specific leak rate. Customers send us their units, we pick out materials, send samples, report our findings, and offer them three material options — good, better, and best. This process is often fast and efficient because samples are tested in-house.
Our team is ready to guide you through every project phase, ensuring your design-build, parts, and materials selection are ideal, maximizing performance and cost-effectiveness.
At Sur-Seal, we don’t just meet expectations; we redefine them. Contact us today and experience the difference a true partnership can make.
