Brass makes sense for seat belt manufacturer
A
Copper Development Association product story
Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team
May 5, 2005
Securon choose to use free machining brass bar for the safety critical vehicle motion sensor used in each of its automotive seat belts.
Securon was founded by Ronnie Proctor, the current Managing Director, and his late father in 1973 and has grown to be Britain's leading designer and manufacturer of seat belts and safety critical equipment.
All the company's products are designed, manufactured, tested and approved to the appropriate European and international standards.
Seat belts use a number of different and widely varying materials, such as webbing, metals, plastics etc, and make use of an equally large number of manufacturing processes, including injection moulding, cold pressing, hot seal cutting and sewing, many of which are carried out within the company.
Securon, however, choose to use free machining brass bar for the safety critical vehicle motion sensor.
The vehicle sensor is a "standing man" that topples over and tilt locks the seat belt mechanism when rapid deceleration, associated with an accident, is experienced.
Additionally, if the driver falls asleep and the vehicle goes up or down a steep bank at the side of the road and overturns it will lock in, preventing the driver and passengers being thrown around the interior or out of the vehicle.
The shape of this "standing man" is critical to ensure that the centre of gravity is in the correct position.
If the "standing man" topples over before the correct level of deceleration is experienced, the seat belt will lock up unnecessarily; if it takes a greater deceleration to topple, the seat belt will not restrain its occupant in an accident, which could prove to be fatal.
Securon choose to use brass for three main reasons: first, its density allows them to design a small compact component that fits neatly in the seat belt housing.
Secondly, brass is easily machined with minimal wear on cutting tools and machine slides so that close tolerances and repeatability of the necessary intricate shape are readily achieved.
Thirdly, brass has excellent corrosion resistance (eliminating the need for plating, a cost saving) ensuring that in the severe environments in which the company's products work (off-highway vehicles such as tractors, forklift trucks etc) the vehicle motion sensor never rusts, corrodes or seizes up, which ensures it works every time.
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