Routine maintenance and continuous care of any automotive increases its lifespan. Automotive maintenance means performing routine checks and services to prevent malfunction and premature failure of a vehicle’s components.
Vehicle owners use various automotive maintenance products to improve performance, durability, and comfort.
Applications of Soft Gel Encapsulation Machines in Automotive Maintenance
Alt: JL-250II Softgel Encapsulation Machine.
Most manufacturers are opting to encapsulate vehicle maintenance products for various reasons. They use soft gel encapsulation machines to encapsulate multiple automotive maintenance products.
Lubricants
A vehicle lubricant is a solid or liquid substance that is a friction-reducing film between two moving parts. It reduces energy loss generated through friction. The most common lubricants are lube oil and grease.
Lubricating oils are made from synthetic or petroleum oil blends. Vehicle greasing helps to prevent premature wear and tear. If you don’t lubricate your vehicle’s moving parts, especially the engine, complications such as squealing brakes or clutch slippage will occur.
Manufacturers use soft gel encapsulation machines to encapsulate lubricants. When lubricants are in soft gel form, they are released slowly, prolonging their effectiveness.
Fuel-Additives
These are substances that most people add to their regular vehicle’s gas for a specific reason. Fuel additives help improve the capabilities of a vehicle’s engine while running or in use.
The most common fuel additives are.
- Fuel system cleaners
- Anti-gel diesel additives
- Ethanol treatment
- Gas treatment
- Fuel-line antifreeze
Adhesives/Sealants
Constantly replacing your vehicle’s components or body parts after damage can be expensive. You can use sealants and adhesives to bond and seal, making repairs. Sealants and adhesives eliminate the need for welding or using screws, rivets, and bolts.
Doors, windows, engines, windshields, and exhaust pipes need proper sealing. Sealants add safety as they are waterproof and shockproof and reduce a vehicle’s weight after replacing bolts and screws.
Encapsulating adhesives and sealants improve their shelf life and, at the same time, control release. The vehicle bonds and seals become more durable.
Corrosion Inhibitors
Because vehicle parts face exposure to different weather elements, they need protection to prevent rust. Corrosion inhibitors form a protective layer, preventing water and dirt from reaching the vehicle’s metallic parts.
Regularly applying corrosion inhibitors prevents your vehicle’s car parts from corroding and rusting. Encapsulated corrosion inhibitors offer long-lasting protection, reduce maintenance costs, and extend your vehicle’s lifespan.
Air Fresheners/Fragrances
Air fresheners or fragrances help eliminate unpleasant odors, creating a pleasant mood inside the vehicle.
The encapsulated air fresheners release slowly, producing a long-lasting scent.
Antifogging Agents
These products prevent the build-up of fog, dust, and smoke on a vehicle’s windscreen. In wet or foggy weather conditions, you need clear visibility. Antifogging agents prevent water from condensing on the inside of the vehicle’s glass.
The agent forms a film between the windshield and the condensed water to prevent further fogging.
Importance of Soft Gel Encapsulation in Automotive Maintenance
Soft gel encapsulation plays an essential role in automotive maintenance by providing proactive
- Controlled Release
Controlled release of soft gel automotive maintenance products allows for precise dosing, ensuring the suitable release amount. Precise dosing prevents excess usage and avoids wastage, leading to cost savings.
The controlled release of encapsulated products extends their lifespan as the active ingredients are released gradually. Eventually, there is a continuous supply of the product.
The product is uniformly distributed to the targeted areas. Because of the targeted release, there is minimal environmental pollution. Minimal and targeted release ensures no runoff of soil or water contamination.
- Protective barrier
Soft gel encapsulation forms a protective barrier around sensitive vehicle maintenance products, protecting them against dust, chemicals, and moisture. The protective barrier ensures that these products remain free from contaminants and continue to perform their functions.
Exposure to oxygen can cause oxidation to degrade the properties of most automotive maintenance products. Encapsulating the product within the gelatin shell minimizes its exposure to oxygen, preserving its stability.
The protective barrier provides the products with insulation against rapid temperature fluctuations. Fuel additives evaporate quickly. The encapsulated product remains in the gelatin and does not evaporate quickly.
- Cheaper Coating
When manufacturers of automotive maintenance products encapsulate them, they provide a cheaper coating and reduce the need for expensive mechanical enclosures.
The gelatin shell minimizes direct contact between the product and the automotive surfaces, reducing friction and wear.
Soft Gel Encapsulation Process for Automotive Maintenance Products
Alt: Automatic Intelligent Gelatin Melting System.
Different manufacturers use the following process to encapsulate the various automotive maintenance products.
- The manufacturer prepares soft gel encapsulation materials such as lubricants, anti-fogging agents, and sealants to ensure proper viscosity and adhesion.
- Depending on the specifications of the automotive products, you can set up the soft gel encapsulation machine. You’ll need to first decide on the component shape, size, and material properties. These factors will help determine the ideal molds and dispensing systems.
- The products are dispensed into the encapsulating material depending on the design shape when using the dispensing equipment.
- The encapsulated products are taken through a curing process involving either UV lights, curing agents, or exposure to heat. The type of encapsulation material that you use will determine the curing process.
- Quality control and inspection follow next to ensure the encapsulated products meet industry standards.
- Once the automotive products meet quality control and inspection, carefully package them to protect them from damage. Do proper labeling and documentation.
Choosing the Ideal Soft Gel Encapsulation Machine
When using soft gel encapsulation technology, automotive maintenance product manufacturers must ensure they use the correct machine. Consider the factors I have highlighted below as you select a suitable machine.
| Properties | Description |
| Material compatibility | It should be compatible with the type of encapsulation material that you have chosen. |
| Consider curing requirements, viscosity, and properties to ensure high-quality encapsulation. | |
| Precision and accuracy | The machine should have precise and accurate dispensing capabilities to ensure the products have uniform coverage and consistent quality. |
| Consider a machine with automated control systems, adjustable parameters, and multiple dispensing heads to enhance accuracy. | |
| Ease of operation and maintenance | Choose a machine that is easy to operate, user-friendly, and has minimal set-up requirements. |
| Consider how easily you can get the machine’s spare parts and if cleaning and maintenance is something you can do easily. Choose a machine supplier who offers support. | |
| Volume and capacity | Your production volume will determine the size and production capacity of the machine. |
| Consider the future batch size, cycle capacity, and production capacity. | |
| Intergration | Ensure you can integrate the soft gel encapsulation machine into existing workflows and automation systems within the automotive facility. |
| Safety and compliance standards | Verify that the machine complies with the safety and regulation standards of the automotive industry. |
| Compliance certificates, safety interlocks, and emergency safety controls are some features to look for. |
Maintenance and Troubleshooting Guidelines of Soft Gel Encapsulation Machines
You might encounter machine issues when encapsulating automotive maintenance products. Please note that regular maintenance of the soft gel encapsulation machine is one way to ensure optimal performance.
Maintenance
There are several areas you need to take into consideration when carrying out regular maintenance of your soft gel encapsulation machine.
- Calibration: Regularly calibrate and adjust the dispensing parameters, curing settings, and other processes to maintain optimum quality and consistency. Verify the accuracy of the dispensing heads and any other essential components.
- Training: Train machine operators and maintenance personnel regularly on maintenance procedures, safety processes, proper equipment operation, and best practices for handling encapsulation materials.
- Equipment inspection: You should regularly inspect the soft gel encapsulation equipment for damages, breakage, and signs of wear and tear. Check other components, including mixing chambers and dispensing nozzles, and ensure that conveyor belts are clean and functioning correctly.
- Cleaning and lubrication: Ensure clean and lubricate the encapsulation equipment as the manufacturer recommends to prevent residue build-up, ensuring smooth operations. Only use cleaning products and lubricants compatible with the encapsulation materials and equipment.
- Material handling and storage: You should ensure that all the people concerned carefully handle all the soft gel encapsulation materials. That way, you prevent the materials from getting contaminated and absorbing moisture, which leads to spoilage. Consider storing materials in sealed containers and keep them away from direct sunlight and extreme temperatures.
Troubleshooting
Often, you might realize that the soft gel encapsulation machine needs to be fixed or that the quality of the automotive maintenance products has been reduced. Here are some of the areas you can troubleshoot to discover the problems.
| Problem | What to do |
| Air bubbles, material inconsistency, incomplete coverage. | Examine equipment settings, material properties, environmental conditions, and operator practices. |
| Process parameters | Adjust dispensing pressure, temperature, flow rate, and other parameters. |
| Document the changes and monitor the effects on encapsulation performance. | |
| Equipment | Clogged nozzles, worn-out seals, misaligned dispensing heads, faulty curing lamps. |
| Replace or repair the components as necessary. | |
| Material analysis and testing | Analyze and evaluate the properties and performance of encapsulation materials, including thermal stability, viscosity, and adhesion strength. |
| Adjust material formulations and curing conditions based on test results. | |
| Document and analyze trends | Keep detailed records of material batches, equipment maintenance, and process parameters. |
| Note recurring issues or patterns to know what needs improvement. |
If the troubleshooting efforts are not successful or the issues are complex, you can reach out to your supplier Jangli Equipment. We offer full-time customer support to all our clients.
Challenges When Encapsulating Automotive Maintenance Products
The process of producing encapsulated automotive maintenance products, however, does face some challenges. The first challenge is choosing a suitable encapsulation material compatible with the various automotive parts. At the same time, the material should be able to withstand environmental conditions.
During the encapsulation process, air entrapment within the encapsulation material occurs. It results in the formation of bubbles and voids. When air entrapment occurs, the encapsulated automotive products lose their efficiency.
Maintaining and servicing encapsulation equipment to ensure continuous quality product production is another challenge most manufacturers face—the need for machine experts, equipment downtime, and component wear and tear hamper constant production operations.
Ensuring that the soft gel encapsulation machine dispenses the encapsulation material with uniformity and precision is another challenge. Nozzle alignment, flow rate, and variations in dispensing pressure lead to inconsistent dispensing and encapsulation defects.
Most small-scale manufacturers of automotive maintenance products need help balancing the cost of the encapsulation process and production efficiency. Hence, there is a need for a careful selection of soft gel encapsulation materials and equipment.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What type of automotive components can also benefit from soft gel encapsulation?
Connectors, sensors, wiring harnesses, and electronic control units (ECUs)s are some of the automotive components that can benefit from soft gel encapsulation. The gel material shields the components from environmental factors such as oxygen, moisture, and vibrations, which reduces their durability.
2.) What is the material used in soft gel encapsulation?
A soft gel is a gelatin-based shell that surrounds a liquid fill. The liquid fill in automotive maintenance includes lubricants, fuel additives, corrosion inhibitors, air fresheners, and sealants.
Soft gels are made from a mixture of water, gelatin, opacifiers, and a plasticizer.
3.) Where can I find more information about encapsulating automotive maintenance products?
Reach out to Jangli Equipment for additional information and support when it comes to all matters encapsulation. Your fellow manufacturers are also in a position to give you more details.
Researching online or reading industry association newsletters is another great way of getting information.
4.) How do soft gel encapsulation machines work?
The soft gel encapsulation machines will dispense the automotive maintenance materials into a gel material. Upon drying, the products are protected from environmental conditions. The products will be released from the soft gel layer in a controlled manner when put in the various automotive areas.
The soft gel material helps to keep the products pure without any contamination, making them more efficient and durable.
Conclusion
Producing quality encapsulated products can be a significant challenge for many manufacturers. However, you don’t have to do it alone. At Jangli Equipment, we provide high-quality equipment, and we can recommend the best machine to meet your specific needs.
Our sales team is always ready to take you through the machine identification and buying process. We can also provide any other equipment that you’ll need to encapsulate automotive maintenance products.
