15 October 1998: US-based Daimler-Benz has specified Santoprene thermoplastic rubber from Advanced Elastomer Systems (AES) to encapsulate the quarter-light windows of the company“s new A-Class series…
15 October 1998: US-based Daimler-Benz has specified Santoprene thermoplastic rubber from Advanced Elastomer Systems (AES) to encapsulate the quarter-light windows of the company“s new A-Class series. The glass encapsulation technique reduces weight, cost and simplifies assembly, the company said. The application was jointly developed by AES and Richard Fitz GmbH & Co KG. Sekurit Saint-Gobain Deutschland GmbH & Co KG, the supplier of the four quarter-light windows, has appointed Fritz to encapsulate the glass with a special high-flow grade of Santoprene rubber prior to shipping the completed modules to Daimler-Benz for assembly. Ford and Volkswagen also use Santoprene rubber to encapsulate windows on select vehicles. The company said that the thermoplastic elastomer grades also offer a number of other advantages for glass encapsulation, incuding no fading or blooming, broad processing windows, good adhesion to glass with special adhesive systems, and full recyclability.