The Situation
The CEO of a market leader in high performance bicycle components was taking personal charge of a multi-million dollar product recall critical to restoring confidence in his brand. The seal and mating component interface didn't function in all operating conditions.
The Ask
Direct maximum Darcoid resources to engage technical, quality, and fulfillment teams, provide top-down fast track status internally and with manufacturing partner centers of excellence to drive fast resolution.
The Solution
Our analysis showed that the incumbent piston seal profile and dimensions required optimization to conform to full range of manufactured conditions of the bore. A lower TR-10 material formulation was selected and evaluated to allow lip flexibility and elastomeric resiliency at lower temperatures. Iterative profile design time was shortened using FEA simulation. Tooling was cut and high precision parts delivered within 2 weeks.
Ongoing predictable seal performance is assured regardless of influences inside and outside the supply chain by deploying Darcoid’s Seal Performance Creep controls.
The Success
Darcoid's successful alignment of resources allowed our customer to meet their resolution timeline. The seal design concept not only solved the initial problem but was foundational to subsequent brake platforms. Our customer went on to adopt PPAP controls on other components and commodity types. The market responded positively and now our customer is an established brand leader in this product segment
