What’s Cooking? Formulas, Finishes and Flexibility
The Hackettstown Research & Development Team blends the right ingredients for product integrity
Bill Longcor is a master at the art and science of building recipes. With a background in Analytical Chemistry, Bill has been blending ingredients and developing innovative product material formulations for nearly 30 years.
As an R&D Team Manager at ABB’s state-of-the-art Material Science Lab in Hackettstown, NJ, Bill works primarily on compounds and polymer formulations used in a range of product lines across ABB Installation Products, including Elastimold® switchgear, Ty-Rap® cable ties, Carlon® electrical boxes, Ocal® conduit and Homac® connectors. He develops new recipes for rubber, plastic and urethane, primarily for the U.S./Latin America region.
His passion for experimenting in the lab carries over to the kitchen, where Bill enjoys baking sourdough and brewing beer. The editorial team for ABB Conversations connected with Bill recently to see what he’s got cooking.
What drives the development of a new “recipe” or material formula?
BL: What’s great about my job is that we’re focused on innovation and always exploring new formulas and materials. I work closely with our product development and engineering teams across ABB to create formulas for new products. With the supply chain challenges we’ve seen during the pandemic, a lot of my work over the past several years focused on reformulating our proprietary “recipes” with alternate material sources. This enables us to develop new solutions and continually improve our existing products – from the way it is produced to enhancing reliability or resisting corrosion, while making them more environmentally friendly. One of the growing areas of this work is finding alternative materials to do the same job – using renewable resources and sustainable sourcing that maintain or improve performance.
What is unique about ABB’s Material Science Lab?
BL: First, we’re closely connected with our production sites. This gives us a better understanding of the final form and requirements, as well as unique insights if we need to troubleshoot. Working closely with our manufacturing sites helps us know what will perform best. We also have unique equipment here at the lab. Over the last eight years, ABB has made significant investments in new equipment.
One of my favorite pieces is the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). This impressive machine is capable of magnification 1 million times what can be seen with the naked eye. As we develop new products, we stress-test everything for failure and push it until it breaks down. Many of our products are installed in harsh environments and are designed to protect electrical systems and withstand different temperatures, chemicals and corrosion, liquid ingress and other elements. This machine images samples down to the nanoscale and produces computer-generated images to help us understand what causes these failures and breakdowns so we can build stronger products. Over the last eight years, ABB has made significant investments in new equipment.
How has your work changed over the last 30 years?
BL: One obvious answer is technology – it’s advanced tremendously over the years. The equipment has gotten smaller, better, faster. What used to require over 1,000 image samples now requires just four.
The materials landscape has also shifted with more raw material shortages. Take polymers and rubber, for example. Cell phones didn’t require cases 15 to 20 years ago. Now, we buy a new case for each new phone. With so many throw-away plastic products in the market, like cell phone cases, polymer has been in limited supply. We’re constantly looking for new and alternative materials, researching and sourcing quality materials and extensively testing how they will perform in different environments.
Has your interest in baking sourdough or brewing beer inspired your work at ABB?
BL: Both inspire each other! I’ve come to be as methodical when I’m baking and brewing as I am here in the lab – writing down the humidity and temperature of each batch to understand how that influences the outcome and taste of the final product. One example of how baking has inspired my work at ABB was from a book I read about bread-baking techniques from around the world. It described how some bakers mix the water and flour first and let it stand, to hopefully let the gluten bloom more for a better rise. I saw such an improvement with the bread, it inspired me in the lab to explore not only the types of ingredients but the sequence and process in which we mix and blend the ingredients. We experimented with the mixing order for a particular blend of rubber and implemented a straining step.
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