Insuring Galvanic Compatibility for Defense Electronics

In 1990, with the Soviet Union in its death throes, it seemed high time to begin stowing away some of the tens of thousands of tons of electronics the United States military had accumulated to fight the Cold War. At least, that was the line of thinking in the first half of the year. Then, that August, Iraqi forces rolled into Kuwait, and our line of thinking had to change yet again in preparation for the First Gulf War. 

As American forces began their rapid build-up to Desert Storm, a major issue came to light. The electronic equipment onboard tanks, Humvees, and mobile artillery, much of which had been corralled in storage sheds throughout the United States and West Germany, began to malfunction in the rugged desert environment. Due galvanic incompatibility, caused in many cases by inadequate EMI shielding gaskets and gasket design, the electronic enclosures on many of these items simply couldn’t withstand the environment they were subjected to, and began in many cases, just falling apart.

In short, the American military discovered what thousands of grade school science students have discovered when building their first primitive wet cell batteries:   galvanic action can cause the fast sacrifice of enclosures, especially aluminum and magnesium, in tough environments. The need became apparent to develop moldings, extrusions, and EMI/RFI shielding gaskets that would allow for the American military’s high-performance, high-maintenance electronic equipment to perform at optimal level for long periods of time.

Since those days of 1991, we’ve come a long way in terms of our design-work for military electronics and, by extension,  ruggedized commercial applications. At Vanguard Products  we’ve fabricated any number of custom moldings, rubber extrusions, and shielding gaskets for some of the most sophisticated vehicles and weapons systems in America’s arsenal. Just ask the soldiers and marines who fought in the Second Gulf War. While it’s a given that mil-spec equipment is prone to breakage and failure in wartime (just as in peacetime), the anticipated epidemic of mechanical and electronic failures similar to the First Gulf War never materialized for the Second, at least not on the same scale. It’s because we as a country had learned our lessons from 1991. It’s because companies like Vanguard Products had applied those lessons with consideration and care to the equipment they had designed.

The Effects of Miniaturization of Applications on Components and Materials

It was not so long ago – most likely in a majority of our lifetimes – when the highest-performance computing machines of the day took up half the space of an entire large university, corporate, or government laboratory building. Consider the goliath-sized computer of the 50s and 60s, and then compare their computational power to the touch-screen iPhone you may very well right now be holding in your hand. That iPhone holds exponentially greater levels of functionality than did those unwieldy behemoths from 50 years back. Nor does the trend need be observed from the vantage point of decades in order to be readily apparent. During the later course of this year, all the major Smartphone and computer suppliers introducing items that bear all the features and functions of the original model – but still uses a considerably smaller amount of space. It all boils down to the ever-increasing (or should we say decreasing trend) in electronics and mechanics: the miniaturization of parts, components, and applications.

From the Smartphone to the Smartcar, it seems as though the trend were endemic in most, if not all, industries. Since Vanguard makes its business both in supplying EMI/RFI gasket shielding for electronic devices, as well as more conventional extrusions and molds for silicone- and elastomer-based products (that don’t necessarily have an electrical application), we make it our business to keep current with the ongoing miniaturization process, and how it affects our industry and the business we conduct as a company.

In order for manufacturers like ourselves to remain ahead of the curve, we must anticipate the new demands for miniaturization. We must readily be able to provide EMI shields for ever smaller computers, phones, and electronic reading devices. By necessity, we must heed the so-called “Moore’s Law,” which posits that the number of transistors on any given circuit is able to double within the next 18 months. With technology moving ever more swiftly, we must ever more swiftly keep pace with its advances, and be capable of presenting solutions in anticipation of these issues as much as (if not more than) in reaction of them.

We Hope to See You at Aerocon in Fort Worth This March

This March 14 – 15 at the Fort Worth Convention Center in Fort Worth, TX, you’ll find Vanguard Products tending Booth #137 at Aerocon, one of the foremost aerospace and defense industry exhibition shows in North America. We’re looking forward to connecting with new clients, getting in touch with old friends, and discovering more about the latest trends in cutting-edge aerospace and military technology. 

It’s an uncontestable fact that the aerospace and defense industries pave the way for future technological applications at large. Where would the commercial airline industry be without the development of long-range bombers during the Second World War? Where would GPS technology stand without the development of NAVSTAR satellites to detect incoming Soviet ICBMs? Where would the Internet itself be without the development of ARPA Net, the communication system built by NORAD in the 1960s that would allow for key military and governmental installations to communicate with each other effectively in the event of a nuclear exchange? When would the lowly steel barrel industry, the industry which today enables global trade from oil to foodstuffs, have gotten its start without the U.S. military requiring better containers to supply its forces in North Africa in World War Two?

The fact that Vanguard specializes (amongst other things) in EMI/RFI shielding gaskets and heat conducting elastomer puts us in a position to help supply some of the most advanced technologies coming down the pipeline this century. More so than ever, we anticipate the 21^st century being a century that’s electrically-driven at exponentially higher levels than the 20^th. The days of Thomas Alva Edison and his 100-watt light-bulbs have given way to satellite, robotic, and microchip technology that will develop American technology far beyond the reaches of our finest sci-fi writers. 

The future is being written now at such events as Aerocon. We at Vanguard hope to see you there shortly. 

It’s Almost Time for MD & M

When most people hear the word, “Anaheim,” immediately they begin to think of Donald Duck, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and little else. But “Anaheim” has its own very specific connotations to Vanguard, and to many other product and materials manufacturers, assemblers, and distributors: namely, the MD & M Show, to be held this year at the Anaheim Convention Center from February 14 – 16. MD & M is the largest annual manufacturing showcase of its kind in California, and this year will doubtless prove to be no exception.

One of the key markets we’re hoping to connect with at MD & M is the medical diagnostic industry. The silicone tubing and EMIshielding gaskets we provide at Vanguard are vital to any number of high-performance pieces of medical equipment. As an example, without high-quality EMI gaskets shielding infant respiration monitors, those monitors encounter too much outside interference to register correctly. 

Another such example is our ability to take a custom-molded silicone product, tweak it as is necessary, and thereby adapt it into an extruded/bonded product. Being templates, extrusions are much easier to fabricate than moldings, and are a far more cost-effective option for medical institutions to adopt.

Another reason we’re going to MD & M is for the cross-pollination factor of the event. Happening simultaneously right across the way from MD & M is Aerocon, the single largest conference and material showcase on the West Coast for the aerospace and defense industries. Just as medical monitoring equipment often requires a high-speed processor to help itself run, so do aerospace/defense applications. EMI shielding technology is essential for many types of applications from both types of industry. In short, we hope to meet, greet, and do business with representatives from both of these leading and innovative fields.

2012 is shaping up to be a significant year for American manufacturing. Statistics seem to indicate that manufacturing is recovering faster than other sectors of the US economy. We’re looking forward to MD & M (and to Aerocon) in seeing what the future has to offer. Here’s to finding great minds that think alike.

ISO 9001-2008 Recertified for Our 6th Consecutive Year

Maintenance of standards – if the standards are high enough – is most likely a sign of progress. We at Vanguard Products are very pleased to announce our recertification in accordance with ISO 9001-2008 standards for the sixth successive year, the fifth year without findings.  We take this news in good stride as we enter 2012, confident that it heralds an excellent business year to come.

In order to earn an ISO 9001-2008 standard certification, a company not only must perform in accordance with its previous quality standards, but must constantly assess ways that it can improve its quality performance in the future and implement them on a continuing basis. It must also measure the effectiveness of these improvements and tweak them.  In effect, a company cannot just achieve certification and “rest on its laurels.”

Firstly, one must engineer a plan of action, which – if followed correctly – can ensure successful quality management for one’s business. The plans necessarily involve meticulous bookkeeping: the standards must be clear, the quality objective guidelines must be focused, and the responsibilities of those entrusted with carrying out these quality standards must always be accurate. When it comes to selling custom manufactured engineered products, it’s a tight ship, not a leaky faucet, we’re running.

Beyond establishment of quality standards, there also lies implementation. One must effectively communicate all one’s criteria for quality throughout the company. A certified company must also be constantly aware of whichever factors are keeping one’s company at bay from its objectives. Ensuring the competent performance of company workers and managers is an absolute must. Providing the necessary infrastructure and then maintaining that infrastructure throughout the business year, are absolute necessities. If preventive measures need to be taken in order to correct the course of events, then they must be undertaken logically and without hesitation.

Communicating with clients clearly and objectively is – without a doubt – the absolute necessity of necessities. Customers must feel engaged and knowledgeable about the goods and services one is providing them, and must also regularly remain informed of any late-breaking updates in those products and services.  In the end, customers must be satisfied that all their requirements were met, and, whenever possible, exceeded.

These are merely to sketch a few outlines of what it takes to be ISO 9001-2008 certified. From our humble beginnings in the 1960’s, our reputation has been centered around providing a package of the highest quality, precision, technical expertise, and service in the industry at competitive prices.  We’re proud we’ve achieved this certification six years in a row. Here’s looking forward to a seventh.