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> Overview
| Products
| Gases
A wide range of industrial gases are required for
the manufacture of the many parts and materials
needed by the automotive industry. Our products
can significantly improve quality, reduce waste,
boost productivity and benefit the environment.
Inflator manufacturers use argon and helium to make
air bags for the U.S. and European car markets.
A gas system was designed that makes inflators much
less volatile than with conventional systems, blending
98 percent argon with two percent helium at high
pressure.
Nitrogen is used in heat-treating processes to strengthen
and improve the formability of steel. Combining
this process with our wave-soldering technology
will aid in the production of electronic components
for seats, stereo systems, anti-lock brakes and
air-conditioning.
When nitrogen is used to blanket paint storage tanks,
inert cans during packaging and purge air from instruments,
auto paint stays oxygen- and moisture-free so the
finish goes on smoothly every time. It is also used
as a propellant to shoot plastic into the mold ("reinforced
reaction injection molding") for plastic bumpers
and facia. Gaseous nitrogen blankets are essential
to keep the urethane chemicals dry as they are mixed
and then injected. Nitrogen is used by glass manufacturers
in their production processes, to create both flat
and safety glass.
Nitrogen, when used to pump up tires instead of
air, will prevent overheating and boost tire performance.
This is a popular practice used within race-car
circuit.
Liquid nitrogen is essential to cryogenic grinding
of tires, so they can be re-used to make rubber
floor mats and build new asphalt roads.
Steelmakers use oxygen to melt scrap, refine the
steel and heat the furnaces that reheat steel slabs.
Oxygen is also used to make ethylene oxide, which
is then reacted into ethylene glycol - the main
component in anti-freeze.
Helium is used to leak-test the radiator and torque
converter, an automatic transmission part that has
to be leak-tight. (If there is a leak, the helium
will bubble and is detectable.)
Using hydrogen as an alternate fuel eliminates toxic
emissions that cause smog. A fuel-cell engine generates
the electricity to power a vehicle from the chemical
reaction of hydrogen and oxygen from the air. Clean
burning and not considered an atmospheric pollutant,
hydrogen is fast becoming the energy source of the
future.
Steelmakers use hydrogen in annealing furnaces to
produce steel. During production of sparkplugs,
hydrogen is used for heat-treating, so the ceramic
insulator bonds to the metal. They also end up cleaner
and brighter.
Hydrogen is also used at refineries to create cleaner,
reformulated fuels for vehicles.
Assembly plants use argon to weld auto bodies, as
well as surrounding frames and supports. Welding
gases and hardgoods are used to weld subassemblies
for dashboards and seat frames.
Argon is also used for many car-light applications
and to make air bags for the USA and European car
markets.
Auto lamp-makers use krypton, xenon and neon to
make high-quality lights for bright, long-lasting
performance. A vacuum is created, then backfilled
with inert gas (the higher the pressure, the better
the burn). The "cyclops" middle brake
light in the center rear of newer cars gets its
red "warning" glow from neon.
The latest innovation in automotive headlamps is
the arc-discharge headlamp. These lamps are much
smaller, last six times as long, and produce a whiter
light. The bulbs are tiny - about the size of a
match - and contain xenon and two tiny tungsten
electrodes. Electricity jumps across the gap between
these electrodes, producing a very intense white
light. Because of its small size, the whole lamp
assembly can be reduced to the size of a credit
card. The impact of this is better, more aerodynamic
styling possibilities, along with significantly
reduced weight, when compared to the glass assemblies
in use today.
Specialty gases and equipment offer a broad range
of environmental calibration gas mixtures, zero
gases, analytical support gases, and related gas
handling and distribution systems used for monitoring
and testing vehicle emissions.
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