Apple Rubber is proud to announce the launch of Apple Rubber Academy – A Free Certification course offers a five-chapter certification course that allows engineers to sharpen their skills on rubber materials, sealing best practices and engineering quality.
"Apple Rubber Academy was created to allow all levels of personnel to become in-house engineering experts," John Tranquilli, materials manager, says. "Through our Hot Topics engineering blog, we found that we were getting a lot of engagement and questions about the technical content we were posting. We felt it would be good to consolidate all the information in a central location to serve as a learning tool for engineers, purchasing agents and students."
Throughout the course, engineers can expect to learn about the makeup of rubber compounds, molding processes and shrink-rate calculations, tolerances for non-standard O-Rings, the difference between static and dynamic seals, and other industry best practices.
"Purchasing agents can get an in-depth overview of what they are purchasing, quality personnel can get an understanding of how tolerance is applied to O-Rings and rubber components, and managers can learn how to keep rubber components on the best possible design path," Tranquilli says.
In each chapter of the academy, users will have access to three phases of content, a video and a 15-question quiz. Before earning the certification, engineers will have to complete a 75-question final exam. The certification courses and exam are free to take and do not expire.
"This course provides the perfect overview of the many aspects of the rubber manufacturing process, and how each step contributes to the finished product," Katie Olczak, PhD candidate for biochemical engineering at University of Florida, writes. "Illustrations throughout the course enabled me to have a clear comprehension of the material. Overall, it was a user-friendly experience that allowed me to see how important it is to have a working knowledge of every step of the manufacturing process."