Assists customer with a low-conductivity elastomer solution
Hutchinson Aerospace & Industry, Inc., a manufacturing innovator and global leader in engineered shock, vibration and motion control solutions, helped a customer that provides innovative electrified powertrain solutions for commercial transportation by quickly developing a custom product that offers impressive electrical resistance. The customer, who had who previously worked with Hutchinson’s team to incorporate vibration isolators into their battery mounting design, requested an additional solution with a very low level of electrical conductivity—a solution that would improve system performance, reliability and operator safety.
“Our customer was very happy with our initial catalog offering but urgently required a vibration isolator with lower conductivity and unique specifications that did not exist at the time,” said Hutchinson EVP Bob Anderson. “So, we said, ‘give us two weeks.’ This customer originally chose us for vibration isolators because of our reputation as a solutions provider with extensive materials expertise and in-house testing capabilities. This was our time to show how we can perform under pressure.”
Hutchinson engineers considered an alternative option for electrical isolation at the mounting locations by introducing non-conductive insulating components between the vibration mounts and battery module. However, space constraints and assembly complexity precluded that option—meaning they would have to create a new compound to provide the necessary rubber electrical resistance. Neither party wanted a product with a significantly higher price point or lower quality, so the two worked together to define the specific.
“It was really something to see our team and our customer’s team working so closely to solve this problem within unbelievably tight time restrictions,” continued Anderson. “Ultimately, we formulated two different elastomer compounds and molded two different sets of low conductivity prototype isolators, in a unique shade of green, to identify them as high resistivity rubber mounts.”
The parts were installed on a development vehicle in the customer’s engineering lab and their performance was evaluated through a series of tests. In the end, the electrical resistance was remarkable, exceeding the requirements by a substantial margin.
To learn more about Hutchinson’s capabilities, including those within the electric vehicle marketplace or custom solutions in any industry, please visit hutchinsonai.com.
