Vibracoustic announces first silicone rubber engine mount
Düsseldorf, Germany - BMW has selected engine mounts using silicone rubber in place of natural rubber for its 335i model. The model has been in production for a year, but this is the first time the innovation has been announced.
The units are made by Vibracoustic of Germany with material developed and supplied by Momentive. Silicone offers better tempertaure performance than natural rubber, and the material can be tuned to deliver the right dampig and dynamic properties said Momentive.
The company said the demand has been steadily rising as the under-bonnet temperatures have been rising while available space for the mounts and for ventilation or heat shields has been falling.
“We originally began working with Vibracoustic several years ago, when silicone engine mounts were only a preliminary strategic development,†said Oliver Franssen, Industry Manager for automotive elastomers at Momentive, “over time it became clear to us, however, that it wasn't possible to cope with the high level expectations without the development of a new material. Tensile strength and low dampening are actually contradictory with silicones, but in this case both are necessary at the same time. Today we supply the material to Vibracoustic ready-to-use and are very proud of being able to see our many years of development in use in the first silicone engine mount.â€
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Press release from Momentive
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