Passenger vehicles manufactured all around the world have their interiors thoughtfully designed and built with great care to avoid unpleasant noise, vibration, harshness, buss, squeaks or rattles. It is not just luxury vehicle customers who expects a silent interior in their vehicles. Every car owner wants the cabin noises to be fully eliminated and this puts lot of pressure on the designers and engineers to keep the noise levels to the lowest without affecting the overall cost of the vehicle.
Many a time, the noises become evident in the final assembly and a full redo of the vehicle of component is not a possibility, nor is it possible to change the components as the selected material might have certain performance and cost advantages which makes the choice of materials even more challenging.
To help designers find the right solutions for avoiding these unnecessary noises, vibrations, harshness, buss, squeaks or rattles Klüber Lubrication has come out with the Klüber Automotive Noise Kit.
No room for noise
For car manufactures and automotive suppliers, the new Klüber Automotive Noise Kit has about 20 different noise cancellation product samples ranging from solutions in the form of greases, oils, bonded coating solutions etc. These 20 product samples in the kit help to substantially reduce most of the audible effects resulting from undesired friction, insufficient damping or too much clearance between two components. “Just reach into the kit and keep trying different samples to remove unwanted noises. All sample oils, greases and coatings can now be applied from the small containers with great ease, i.e. without using a spatula or other tools. The customer can find key information on the kit content in an enclosed manual and on a data stick while product groups are sorted by the main challenges met in the car interior. As the vehicles are expected to be sold in different parts of the world, the products selected in the kit meet the stringent material compliance requirements around the world, making it stress free to try out products from the kit”, says Dinkar Pande, Associate General Manager GBT, Klüber Lubrication India.
Noise kit as a problem-solver
Klüber Lubrication India, with presence in India for decades, has been one of the biggest partners for automotive manufacturers and suppliers in the country. The Klüber Automotive Noise Kit has been well received and the kit has solved many challenges for users and designers. Below are few examples of the same.
One of the major automotive car manufacturers in India had a problem with their export vehicle dashboard cabin which was leading to squeaky noises. The car, designed for the Indian market, had the dashboard design with the driver seat on the left side of the car. The design was then modified to have the driver side appear of the right side for export vehicles. In the export category vehicles, the instrument panel was creating a specific noise and was not meeting the quality standards. The designers identified that the noise was occurring from a plastic-to-plastic contact and tried to prevent the noise by using different felt materials in the area. After multiple trials, they were unable to arrive at a satisfactory solution. It was then they thought of lubrication as the solution and tried multiple solutions in the Klüber Automotive Noise Kit to arrive at the best solution. With a single spray of the product Klüberalfa MR 3-800 they were able to eliminate noise completely, without the need to change any design parameter or add any other material to avoid the noise.
Another major automotive OEM found a solution to the noise issue from the HVAC flaps adjustment again by trying different solutions from the Klüber Automotive Noise Kit.
A major vehicle manufacturer in India which had the automatic gear shifter rotational knob faced an issue with noise in the cabin while shifting. With the availability of the Klüber Automotive Noise Kit they were able to try different lubricant solutions to meet the problem at hand. As the clearance was high when they tried different oil-based solutions for the kit, they were able to reduce the noise level by about 70%. However, they found the perfect solution in the form of a low noise grease Klübersynth RA 44-702, which eliminated the noise completely.
It is not just automotive OEMs who have used the Klüber Automotive Noise Kit to their advantage. One of the biggest automotive shock absorber manufacturers had a perennial problem with the seals assembly. After short operation of the shock absorbers on the vehicles, the seals used to get damaged which led to rattling noises during operation. The designers found that the seal damage during assembly as the main cause for this noise. The seals during assembly had to be forced in with enormous force leading the seals to get damaged right at assembly itself. As a quick fix to the issue, the OEM started to use the soap water solution for the assembly of the seal. However, they soon found out that the soap would leave residue on the component and would gradually start corroding the shock absorber which would lead to component failure. With the help of the Klüber Automotive Noise Kit, they tried different lubricants for solving this issue and the best results were achieved when they used the product Klüberplus S06-100 from the kit. This special rubber assembly aid was able to help the OEM in easy assembly of the seals. The product also has a special property that it does not stay back on the surface after assembly and hence does not cause corrosion. The product Klüberplus S 06-100 can be diluted and used resulting in providing the customer a cost effective, relevant solution. The customer also did analysis of the seal at a microscopic level and observed that after assembly with Klüberplus S06-100, the seals did not have any defect or change in structure.
Another major automotive luxury SUV manufacturer had an issue where the grab handle on the front passenger side when slid down for holding, was creating a squeaky noise. This was due to the spring assembly inside the grab handle. The designers were unable to apply a grease to address this issue, as there was a possibility of the grease bleeding during the life of the vehicle and would not be aesthetically appealing to the end user. On trial with different products from the Klüber Automotive Noise Kit, they identified the solution in the form of Klüberalfa MR 3-500 UV. It is truly amazing how small portions of the right lubricant are able to solve complex technological challenges. The Klüber Automotive Noise Kit gives the possibility to the designers to be agile in their working process and try out different solutions to meet their expectations, right at their desks without the hassle of ordering and working on multiple products.