-It disappeared so it was hard to tell how much was put on
-The liquid became dirty giving an unprofessional look
-The liquid did not seal completely once the fastener was torqued in place
-There was too much 'set up' time involved with the liquid
-It was time consuming to clean up the liquid for cosmetic reasons

BUDNICK SOLUTION:  These were some major concerns.  They effected the final vessels' quality, image and cost.  Budnick looked at the situation based on the needs of the application.  We asked:

-What is the compression set?
-Does it need to be resistance to salt water, gas & oil?
-Does it need to be UV resistant?
-Can we get something with more f flexibility compared to the silicone sealant (RTV)?
-Can we provide something that s stays in place over time, unlike the gunnable materials?
-Can we match the color of the material so that it did not stick out against the color of the boat? (In this case, light gray)

Typical PVC through-hole bolts with new silicone foam die cut foam gaskets



ENHANCED PRODUCTIVITY: The benefits to the customer were many.  They were now using a more flexible material, with no cure times.  This solutions provided a complete seal against the elements, while forfeiting less cleanup and rework issues as compared to liquid.  They saw definite labor savings, and the versatility of the die cut gaskets allowed the customer to utilize them across product lines.

CUSTOMER IDEA:  Due to poor foam-in-place air/gas ventilation, the customer experienced over $3,000 per day in quality conformance waste.  Their current supplier was unable to design or produce a venting tape that was permeable enough to draw foam completely throughout their part's cavity.  Poor ventilation resulted in foam voids.  These voids caused poor insulation values, condensation, insufficient foam cure and quality rejections.

BUDNICK SOLUTION:  The Budnick team performed a LEADR Focused Process Review.  By working with the customer's production crew, the team was able to identify production needs beyond the immediate product failure.  Budnick application engineers then sourced a more permeable venting material, designed "user-friendly" part dimensions, applied a custom adhesive pattern to the material and custom fabricated a dispensing system that saved production time.

ENHANCED PRODUCTIVITY:  Budnick's AirFlow venting tape allowed more air and gas to escape while securely holding in the foam.  AirFlow reduced foam void non-conformances, lowered foam usage significantly, decreased labor hours and made tape usage measurable and consistent.

CUSTOMER IDEA:  Needed a very aggressive transfer adhesive slit to .05" wide, while maintaining a +/- .015" tolerance.

BUDNICK SOLUTION:  Budnick responded by working with a variety of machine manufacturers to develop the machinery, cutting blades and blade coolants necessary to slit to such a narrow width. Through a series of challenges and trials, Budnick perfected the process and currently is in full scale production on a number of extremely narrow width double coated tapes.

ENHANCED PRODUCTIVITY:  Budnick's partnership with vendors, as well as customers, helped to provide the total solution necessary to meet this challenge.  Customers are receiving longer length rolls than anyone could have imagined when this process began. Think of Budnick when you notice your electronic components decreasing in size and becoming less expensive.

CUSTOMER IDEA:  Needed to improve productivity on their adhesive tape laminating line.

BUDNICK SOLUTION:  Budnick spliced together 10 rolls of 500 yard tape and traverse wound them into a continuous 5,000 yd spool.

ENHANCED PRODUCTIVITY: Roll changes on the assembly line were reduced tenfold. Reduced roll changes increased line speeds, decreased substrate & tape waste and machine operators were free to work on other projects while the tape was being laminated.

CUSTOMER IDEA:  Liked the double coated adhesive system that they were using, but needed to remove long strips of release liner easily, without the liner tearing.

BUDNICK SOLUTION:  Budnick partnered with the manufacturer, Avery Dennison, to have the same adhesive system coated onto a polyester release liner. Budnick slit the jumbo rolls to the customer's desired width and created a dry edge (finger lift tab without adhesive) by scoring away a portion of the adhesive.

ENHANCED PRODUCTIVITY: The increased strength of the polyester liner eliminated quality rejections that were caused from liner tears.

CUSTOMER IDEA:  Needed a 3/4" thick x 1/2" wide foam tape with beveled edges. Profile parts such as this are normally extruded; however, the specified blend of foam could not be extruded.

BUDNICK SOLUTION:  We adapted machinery to cut at a 45° angle with ultra high pressure water, to quickly produce prototype parts. Then, our project development team purchased automated stand-alone unwind and rewind stands and engineered a conveyor system to begin the automated production of the beveled foam reels.

ENHANCED PRODUCTIVITY:  Budnick's company wide flexibility & team atmosphere resulted in the customer receiving timely prototypes and a smooth transition into full-scale production.