Our client asked:

AirBoss, a leading manufacturer of high-performance rubber materials and advanced engineering products for automotive and defence applications, is exploring expansion of its portfolio to include air springs in response to growing demand within the electric vehicle (EV) market. To evaluate this strategic opportunity, AirBoss sought support in assessing the feasibility and potential cost of manufacturing these parts.

The project story:

• The first task was to perform a teardown of an existing product detailing the materials and manufacturing processes required. A large focus of the project was around the complex composite component called the Bellows, which is critical to Air spring performance.
• In parallel, a literary review and design analysis highlighted key design considerations which were then used to begin a conceptual design of an air spring to allow a costing exercise
• Following collaborative design reviews and the inputs from the teardown, a more detailed concept was developed which allowed initial finite element analysis (FEA) to be performed on the bellows to ascertain recommended material properties and validate the proposed manufacturing process flow
• Once the design had been validated, an on-site visit to the AirBoss facility fed into an equipment/process gap analysis to highlight missing equipment processes or skills required to produce air springs
• Finally, components from the conceptual design were sent to trusted suppliers to build an initial cost estimate for the air spring.

Results: deliverables and outcomes

Sagentia Innovation delivered a report detailing the proposed manufacturing process with gap analysis, CAD of the conceptual air spring design, results of FEA and key design considerations when developing a flexible member such as the bellows along with moulded components. A Bill of Materials with initial costings obtained from trusted suppliers was also provided, highlighting key components. This allowed AirBoss to present customers with a considered concept and facilitated initial price discussions.

Expertise and domain knowledge

• Industrial
• Automotive
• Finite element analysis (FEA)
• Mathematical modelling
• Conceptual design
• Strategic partnering
• Market strategy
• R&D