NOK

Advancing Low-Friction Sealing with Polymer Brushes

Pursuing higher performance with advanced surface treatment technology. The company’s core sealing products, including oil seals and O-rings, are expected to deliver both airtight performance that prevents leaks and low friction that improves energy efficiency in machinery. These two qualities are often in tension, but NOK continues to refine both through ongoing R&D focused on surface functionality, materials, and component design, centered at its Shonan R&D Center in Fujisawa, Kanagawa. In recent years, this work has expanded to include polymer brushes, a surface treatment technology gaining attention worldwide. Rather than focus solely on short-term gains, NOK is pursuing mid to long-term research to improve the performance of its sealing products.

Differentiation Through In-House Adhesive Development

One of NOK’s signature products, the oil seal, is typically made by combining rubber, a metal ring, and a spring. Adhesives are used to integrate these different materials into a single unit. However, bonding dissimilar materials such as rubber and metal is technically challenging, and oil seals must also perform reliably in demanding environments. For instance, they need to maintain adhesion while exhibiting heat and oil resistance, even at temperatures exceeding 100°C. To meet these stringent specifications, NOK has developed its own in-house adhesives for over 60 years.

Evaluating Material Properties in Manufacturing to Enhance Efficiency

To produce oil seals and O-rings, various raw materials are blended to achieve the desired performance and physical properties. While raw materials come with data provided by manufacturers and finished products undergo a thorough evaluation, there is less readily available data on intermediate materials, those still in the processing stage before becoming final products. However, analyzing their properties is crucial for product development and manufacturing processes, as they play a key role in industrial production. For nearly 20 years, NOK has independently measured the processing characteristics of these intermediate materials. By expanding the scope of its evaluations, the company aims to improve production efficiency and strengthen its competitive edge.

Unlocking New Value for Users Via Data Utilization

Over its 84-year history, NOK has accumulated an extensive body of knowledge about materials, product functionality, structural design and production related to its core oil seal business. By digitizing, analyzing and leveraging this data, the company is pursuing initiatives that enhance its operational efficiency and swiftly responding to evolving user needs. A key element in this data utilization is artificial intelligence (AI). NOK collaborates with the data science division of its capital and technology partner, Germany's Freudenberg Group, to pursue various upgrades in efficiency.

Leveraging Group Strengths to Develop FPC-Based Cell Separation Devices

NOK is set to celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2041. As part of its long-term initiatives, the company has identified wellness-related fields — including life sciences and healthcare — s priority areas for innovation. Within this focus, NOK is striving to commercialize cell separation technology using flexible printed circuits (FPC) — a product line that exemplifies the synergy created through the specialized expertise of its Group companies. FPC are the flagship products of Mektec, a NOK Group company engaged in the manufacture and sales of electronic products. Headquartered in Tokyo's Minato Ward, and known globally as a leading player in the FPC market, Mektec is now advancing research and development to harness the unique advantages FPC bring for cell separation devices.

Making a Hydrogen Society Possible with Rubber Technology

The push to promote hydrogen use is gaining momentum. As carbon neutrality (net zero greenhouse gas emissions) becomes a cucial goal for industries worldwide, hydrogen and ammonia are spotlighted as energy sources that do not emit carbon dioxide (CO2). Ammonia derived from hydrogen further elevates expectations for hydrogen as a next-generation energy source.

NOK Adapts to Automotive Industry Changes with New Technologies

NOK's goal is to achieve consolidated sales of one trillion yen by FY2031, coinciding with its 90th anniversary. The automotive industry is undergoing a once-in-a-century transformation, and as a key supplier to the sector, NOK is evolving to handle these changes.
On May 22, 2024, at the Automotive Engineering Exposition 2024 held at Pacifico Yokohama, NOK showcased cutting-edge products and technologies to address critical societal challenges, including electrification and carbon neutrality (net zero greenhouse gas emissions). Earlier in April, the company introduced a unified corporate identity (CI) for its 92 Group companies worldwide, underscoring its commitment to innovation and collaboration. The exhibition featured standout technologies and products that reflect the Group's combined expertise.

Leveraging Material and Design Expertise to Ensure Safety and Reliability in Electric Vehicles

The advent of electric vehicles (xEVs) presents many new challenges, including thermal management and electromagnetic noise. Drawing on its expertise in material formulation and shape design gained while developing seal products, NOK offers a lineup of high-performance products tailored for electric vehicles, including a wide range of components and products to meet customer expectations. Senior Planner Junichi Watanabe and Masahiro Tanioka, manager of the NOK Group R&D Mobility Products Planning Department, shared insights into NOK’s offerings for electric vehicles.

Providing Solutions That Meet Needs Quickly: Leveraging Statistical Methods for Material Formulation

Over the years, NOK has accumulated approximately 88,000 rubber material formulation recipes developed in response to changing needs and demands. Currently, the company leverages this vast dataset of recipes to optimize new material formulations through statistical methods. This approach shortens development time and serves as a powerful tool to quickly respond to needs even amidst rapid environmental changes, such as improving vehicle fuel efficiency and adapting to electrification.

Making the Invisible Visible: Analytical Techniques for Visualization at the Molecular Scale

NOK's strength lies in its technological capability to produce rubber with a wide range of properties that meet various societal needs. At the core of this capability is our advanced analytical technology. By visualizing and understanding rubber structure at a molecular scale, NOK develops safe and reliable products.

What Exactly Is Rubber? The Structure of Rubber and Self-Healing Rubber

NOK's flagship product, the oil seal, is mainly made of rubber. The reason NOK has been able to endow oil seals with such a wide range of functionalities to meet society's needs is its long-standing dedication to original research on rubber. But what exactly is rubber? This article delves into NOK's investigations into the nature of rubber.

The Foundation of Oil Seals: Dual Mechanisms for Lubrication and Sealing

Oil seals are designed to prevent leakage of oils, liquids and gases while also providing lubrication that ensures the smooth motion of components like rotating shafts and pistons, as well as low friction. Oil seals used in automobile engines and motors are also built to last for 10 years or 100,000 kilometers without replacement. But how do they maintain seal integrity, preventing the leakage of oil and ther fluids through the gap between roating or reciprocating components and the seal, while also sustaining low friction over time? It might seem almost too convenient, but the secret lies in the coexistence of two mechanisms: lubrication, which enables low friction, and sealing, which prevents leakage. This article will explain these mechanisms in detail.

Applying Seal Technology to Meet Needs: Supporting Automobiles with NOK

Japan's first oil seal manufacturer, NOK provides high-performance, high-quality products to a wide range of industries, including automotive, construction machinery, agricultural machinery and electronics. Oil seals are used in engines, gears and other components that perform repetitive rotational or reciprocating motions. Their role is to prevent oil, liquids and gases from leaking while ensuring smooth rotational and reciprocating movement. Since decarbonization has become a critical theme for the automotive industry and other sectors, oil seals are also required to achieve higher performance than ever before. Leveraging its long-standing technical expertise, NOK is advancing research and development to ensure every oil seal has optimal functionality.

Providing the Right Products for Advanced Technologies: NOK's Response to Automotive Electrification

NOK's largest customer, the automotive industry, is experiencing what is often called a once-in-a-century transformation. The spread of advanced technologies such as CASE (Connected, Autonomous, Shared, Electric) and the global imperative to achieve carbon neutrality (net zero greenhouse gas emissions) are demanding significant adaptive measures from the automotive sector. To keep pace with these rapid changes and ensure its survival, NOK must focus on developing products tailored to these themes.

Handling Opposing Functions: Oil Seals and Surface Design

A major independent automotive parts manufacturer highly regarded for its technical capabilities. NOK is a key supplier to all Japanese automakers. Its particular strength lies in oil seals, the product the company was founded to manufacture. Used in engines, gearboxes and hydraulic equipment, oil seals must prevent the leakage of oil, water and gases while simultaneously circulating fluids on the sealing surface to enable lubrication. This low level of friction saves energy. Although they may appear to be simple rubber rings, NOK is constantly upgrading these oil seals through improvements in surface functionality, material selection and structural enhancement when in contact with rotating shafts.