Inspecting Multi-Material Automotive Seals: Why Cutting is Your Production Bottleneck
In the production of automotive window seals and weatherstripping, “simple” is a word rarely used. These components are complex assemblies of rubber, plastic, and high-strength steel spring wires (filarmonico).
To guarantee functional performance, manufacturers must maintain strict tolerances on:
The relative position of the steel wire within the profile.
The wall thickness of the plastic structural insert.
The geometry of the rubber lips that ensure a watertight seal.
The Nightmare of Manual Sectioning
Traditionally, monitoring these variables required physical sectioning. But cutting a part that is simultaneously soft (rubber), rigid (plastic), and hard (steel) is a technician’s nightmare.
The Distortion Problem: Sawing or slicing often deforms the rubber or displaces the wire, making the resulting measurement on an optical projector or microscope completely unreliable.
The Labor Cost: Preparing a “perfect” clean cut takes several minutes of meticulous work.
The Subjectivity: Two different operators will often get two different measurements from the same cut.
COREX: The “Virtual Saw” That Never Deforms
COREX eliminates the need for precision cutting. Instead of spending 10 minutes trying to get a perfect slice, the operator can brutally cut a sample segment and place it in the machine.
How the COREX Workflow Works:
Rough Cut: The operator cuts a 50mm segment (no precision needed).
One-Touch Scan: The sample is placed in COREX and the “Start” button is pressed.
Automatic Alignment: In 30 seconds, the software reconstructs the 3D volume, identifies the main axis of the seal, and automatically generates a virtual section in the center of the part—far away from the rough, distorted edges of the physical cut.
Instant Pass/Fail: The software automatically measures all critical dimensions against the nominal CAD data and displays a Go/No-Go result.
Stop Producing Scrap Before It Happens
In the automotive sector, delivering a batch of non-conforming seals is a financial and reputational disaster. Because COREX is so fast and easy to use, inspections can be performed much more frequently. If a wall thickness is drifting or the steel wire is shifting out of position, the operator sees it immediately. You can intervene in the process before the tolerances are exceeded, effectively reducing scrap to near zero.
Even for “low-cost” components like seals, the ROI of COREX is massive. It saves labor time, eliminates measurement error, and protects you from the astronomical costs of automotive recalls.
| Feature | Manual Sectioning + Optical | COREX Virtual Sectioning |
| Sample Preparation | 10+ min (Precision cutting required) | 10 seconds (Rough cut) |
| Measurement Accuracy | Low (Subject to deformation) | High (No physical contact) |
| Multi-Material Capability | Difficult (Rubber smears/Steel snags) | Perfect (Clear density separation) |
| Total Cycle Time | 15–20 minutes | Under 1 minute |
| Operator Skill | High | Low (One-button operation) |
| Data Integrity | Digital photos/Manual notes | Full 3D Archived Data |
