Rubber Product Design Assistance

'Early Supplier Involvement' is a strategy that every design engineer should employ whenever they are presented with the opportunity. Granted it can be rewarding to have hands-on control with a product from concept to production, but the cost and time advantages of bringing in the supplier at the forefront are just too numerous to pass up. 

It should be noted that the overall design is still the brainchild of the engineer, it's just that the supplier can effectively determine how to most efficiently use our products in your project. Elbex is proud to provide design assistance on your new, custom, or retrofit applications. 

What is Design Assistance? 

Quite simply put, our design assistance helps an engineer tap into the knowledge and experience Elbex has gained from the past 25 years in the silicone sheeting and extruded rubber products fields. Every application is unique and we have worked in a variety of industries from appliances to automotive to industrial, manufacturing, mass transit, and more. 

With design assistance we calculate your needs, consider our means, and together arrive at the ultimate solution for production efficiency, cost, and performance. After a customer contacts us with a request for quote, our engineering team responds with a plan of attack that may include plant visits, field support, and tooling and engineering presentations (at Elbex). Both teams evaluate the information and decide what is best moving forward.  

Benefits of Design Assistance 

Antiquated designing practices involved a lot of 'trial and error' when developing a product. Engineers would throw ideas at the wall to see what sticks and then contact the supplier. Sending out multiple orders for prototypes until finding the ultimate solution was an waste of time and materials. Even the final manufacturing conclusion may have been mired by inefficiencies in production or the failure to explore a more viable material option. Engineers, supervisors, and management simply 'went with it.' 

Today, quality suppliers like Elbex offer design assistance whenever a client may need it for our rubber extrusions and other products. The advantages of design assistance actually help both parties involved. The buyer can get their product to market faster by knowing the most efficient manufacturing methods, materials, and alternatives before the first prototype is ever created – making only slight tweaks before production. The end design is the most cost and labor efficient to manufacture. 

Subsequently the supplier isn't burdened with impossible rubber extrusion profiles design orders from a designer. Tolerances that are unnecessarily tight, multiple setups that could have been avoided, and just more time spent in production than needed are eliminated when both sides come together in the design stage. 

Taking the Next Step 

Our engineering team is eager to assist whether you are looking at creating a new application or just want to inquire if there is a better production route for an existing product. We value our relationships in all the industries we serve including the construction and industrial sectors in NW Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and Nevada. Please fill out our contact form, request a quote, or call (877) 302-0423 to kick off what is sure to be a blossoming partnership.