Success knows no borders when it comes to capturing pressure insights. "Insights Around the Globe" is our new periodic blog series featuring real-world application stories direct from Tekscan's global team of channel partners.

In this edition, Dan Dykert of Stress Analysis Services (www.stresshq.com, dan@stresshq.com) shares how I-Scan was used to help verify a transmission gasket seal:

Dan Dykert, Sales Engineer for SAS (Zeeland, MI USA)A couple years back, we received an inquiry from a company working on a new transmission system design. They were investigating a way to verify gasket pressure distribution and sealing. I was invited to join their corporate staff in a review with their gasket/adhesive suppliers to show them how the I-Scan pressure mapping technology could be used to verify bolted gasket seal integrity. 

After 2-3 months, I was contacted by one of their lubrication engineering specialists’ still working on this project, who was interested in seeing how I-Scan could profile bolt pressure on each side of the gasket. I returned to the facility to perform a demo to capture profile pressure under the bolts, as well as between the bolts as they were fastened.

During our demo, we found that the large gasket bolt pattern was irregular, and there were low pressure valleys between several bolt locations. The company concluded that the gasket bolt pattern design required corrections to ensure a proper fit & seal. They eventually purchased several other I-Scan systems for use in different validation projects and applications.

The company was amazed with the data the I-Scan provided, and it helped them solve a long and costly issue that could have prevented an important product launch.

2D and 3D output of single gasket head pressure measurement. Extremely high and low pressures exist which may yield an uneven seal, shown graphically as functions of force vs. time and pressure vs. distance

- Dan Dykert, Stress Analysis Services (Zeeland, MI USA)