A manufacturer in the custom truck body industry was experiencing an unacceptably high failure rate with its toolbox gaskets.

THE PROBLEM

A manufacturer of custom utility truck bodies relies on elastomeric sponge gaskets to seal and waterproof their toolbox doors. When their gasket supplier exited the market, the manufacturer needed to find a reliable new supplier quickly. Unfortunately, the first two suppliers they turned to failed.

THE SOLUTION

The manufacturer tried one, then another gasket supplier. Both suppliers struggled with the demands of the project and delivered parts that failed at an unacceptably high rate.

The Archer team determined that the high failure rate was caused by two primary factors: inadequate sealing properties of the elastomeric material and incorrect part geometry.

The poor sealing properties and inconsistent part profile combined to permit water leakage into the toolboxes and to prevent the toolbox doors from closing properly.

With decades of experience producing precision extruded elastomeric gaskets and seals, the team at Archer was able to formulate a material with the correct physical properties and redesign the part geometry. These changes, combined with our precision extrusion technology, produced seals that protect the doors from leakage while allowing them to close securely with minimum force.