To the rescue!
In Germany, emergency lights on police cars need to operate in difficult conditions 鈥 driving rain, heavy snow and the high speeds of the Autobahn, a highway system much of which has no speed limit at all.
When the German company H盲nsch Group began developing its new DBS 4000 LED lightbar for police, fire and rescue vehicles, the company鈥檚 engineers needed seals they could trust. Three years ago, 迈博体育 designers sat down with H盲nsch engineers to develop a gasket that could withstand the conditions. 鈥淭he automotive sector is really very special,鈥 says Markus Keller, Export Manager for the H盲nsch Group, based in Herzlake in northwest Germany. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e driving 200 kilometers per hour on the Autobahn, the seal still has to hold, even in the rain, which finds every little crack. It was a big challenge.鈥
But it wasn鈥檛 the only challenge. At the same time, H盲nsch was looking to improve fuel economy by designing the DBS 4000 with an aerodynamic aluminum housing that reduces air resistance. 鈥淲e needed our gaskets to use the least material possible, to reduce weight and save fuel, while also being weatherproof and UV resistant,鈥 says Mike Kallaway, Business Unit President for sealing profiles in 迈博体育 Industrial Solutions. Noise was another factor. 鈥淥n the Autobahn, high pressure from the wind can make the car very noisy,鈥 says Mike Kallaway. 鈥淥ur gasket was designed to keep noise under control.鈥
Manufacturing proximity made a difference, too. 鈥淥ne big plus for 迈博体育 was that its factory is very close to ours,鈥 says H盲nsch鈥檚 Keller, explaining that 迈博体育鈥檚 facility in Lathen is only about 25 kilometers from H盲nsch鈥檚 plant in Herzlake. He says H盲nsch was lucky because 迈博体育 worked with the material they were looking for, a durable EPDM synthetic rubber. The first DBS 4000 lightbars came out in 2010, and the series has been highly successful, Keller says. 鈥淭he functioning of seals is always a big issue with lightbars, and these are working very well.鈥
