Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - August 2024 - 9

TECHNICAL INNOVATIONS
Not every fastener has a nut, bolt or
locking feature, but critical joints may
need metal lock washers, lock wires,
cotter pins, brackets or other secondary
mechanisms. Cumulatively, all
these features can add a significant
amount of weight to the vehicle.
Adhesives can't replace fasteners in
every application, but they're well-suited
for door gaskets and vehicle interiors,
including floors, ceilings and side
panels. In addition to being lightweight,
acrylic foam tapes distribute
stresses evenly across surfaces.
During the 1980s, 3M introduced its
VHB tapes to replace vehicle screws,
rivets and welds. The first application
was ambulance panels. Today, there
are many types of acrylic foam tapes,
including products that can bond to
powder-coated, painted and other difficult-to-stick
surfaces. There are even
3M VHB tapes for bonding low surface
energy (LSE) plastics such as polypropylene
(PP) and polyethylene (PE),
both of which can be thermoformed
into body panels.
Acrylic foam tapes from 3M and other
suppliers can be used to attach these
panels instead of rivets or other fasteners.
Adhesive tapes can also be used to
attach rubber seals to painted or powder-coated
surfaces such as door frames.
Additional applications include attaching
flooring, headliners and acoustic side
panels. In a truck cabin, for example,
sound-absorbing insulation that's made
Door and window gaskets, battery seals and molded parts like rubber bushings all provide
engineers with lightweighting opportunities.
from polyester or polyurethane foams
can be attached to body panels with a
pressure-sensitive adhesive tape. OEMs
who use peel-and-stick insulation can
reduce vehicle weight while speeding
product assembly.
Battery seals and beyond
Lightweight rubber foams made of
polyurethane or silicone are also used
to seal and insulate EV batteries. These
specialized foams can include additives
that provide flame resistance, an important
consideration because of the potential
for thermal runaway in EV battery
cells. They also can provide cushioning
and vibration control.
Rubber bushings, a type of vibration
isolator, are also used in EVs. By decreasing
the size of bushings for suspension
parts, engineers can reduce
vehicle weight overall. To support this
design change, however, it's necessary
to choose a lightweight rubber that
won't sacrifice anti-vibration performance.
Importantly, the rubber must
also be bondable to the metal component
that provides the bushing with
dimensional stability.
Electric trucks and off-highway vehicles
also contain other industrial rubber
products that can support lightweighting
initiatives. By working with a fabricator
who can source the right materials and
supply ready-to-install products that use
adhesive tapes instead of fasteners,
OEMs can make progress on their vehicle
weight-reduction goals. The right rubber
products can also support a quieter and
safer ride for equipment operators.
Roberto Naccarato, sales and marketing
manager for Elasto Proxy (www.
Silicone foams can
meet UL-94 V0
requirements for
flame resistance.
TRUCK & OFF-HIGHWAY ENGINEERING
elastoproxy.com/), a rubber fabricator
and distributor for the machinery and
equipment industry, wrote this article for
Truck & Off-Highway Engineering.
August 2024 9
BOTH IMAGES: ELASTO PROXY
http://www.elastoproxy.com/ http://www.elastoproxy.com/
Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - August 2024

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