Capabilities

Engineering

We are damping system experts. Our experience with passive and semi active dampers and shock absorbers is unmatched in the industry. General Kinetics engineers have a history of building strong relationships with our customer's engineers. Our greatest successes occur when our engineers work directly with our customer as part of the development team. At the front end our Business Development people work to understand the business and technical issues or tradeoffs of our customers and introduce the right engineering resources to solve the problem. General Kinetics engineers become an extension of the customers' project team, spending the time to understand the challenges and participate in the design of the right solution. This type of team work and collaboration means our engineers work with a high degree of autonomy yet are able to engage a group of knowledgeable peers within General Kinetics and draw on the collective experience of the organization.

Our tools improve the collaborative process. General Kinetics engineering team utilizes the latest software allowing easy exchange of information with your design team. Our engineering team has the experience and capability to run stress evaluations to verify our products will meet your design load requirements.

Prototype development and testing are carried out in our purpose-built engineering laboratory. A team of experienced technicians simulate extremes of temperature and performance to test the limits of the design envelope. Our equipment includes environmental test chambers, durability test equipment and 5 servohydraulic suspension dynamometers.

Engineering work doesn’t end when the prototypes are delivered. General Kinetics engineers travel to the customer’s test facilities and conduct ride tuning on the dampers, further dialing in the solution for the specific conditions seen in the application.

Manufacturing

General Kinetics believes controlling the critical steps in the manufacturing process delivers better results for our customers. Our factory houses the key processes for damper manufacturing under one roof in our 55,000 square foot plant in Brampton, Ontario. Our processes are grouped by technology, with each headed by an experienced team leader. Flexible work cells and a team approach are employed to maximize product quality.

To control the critical process steps, we have on-site CNC machining, induction hardening and centerless grinding, tube cutoff/forming, resistance/MIG/TIG welding, and final assembly areas, each optimized for shock absorber production. Processes are semi-automated to match the high product mix demanded by our customers. Our GMAW robotic welder enables greater throughput, improved consistency and increased operator safety. Integrated into our welding cell, it complements our resistance welding processes and ensures the integrity of every weld.

To reduce cycle times, we have a fully-automated painting process, enhanced to apply CARC finishes. It’s the first line ever to be set up for completely electrostatic application, improving not only quality but reducing emissions and minimizing personnel risks.