tips for your gasket, solid silicone rubber, r10460 sponge
In a blog I wrote in the past, I had discussed how to make your gasket more cost effective. At times, I feel like I have talked about everything about gasket design- one blog I have not talked about is a few tips on designing gaskets.
Tips:
1. Temperature Range
When you’re designing a gasket, the first thing I always consider is Temperature.
- What is the service temperature of the gasket consistently
- Is it freezing, refreezing, heating up, cooling down?
- Is it intermittent temperatures of high, and lows?
- One thing I see customers always overlook “is the gasket REALLY at those temperatures?” I see customers go “the application could see 500°F for a few seconds. Yeah, true. But, when I throw a pot roast in the oven, internally its not immediately at 325°F.
High Temp Considerations:
-Silicone, Fluorosilicone, Viton, Kalrez
Low Temp:
-Silicone, EPDM, Fluorosilicone
2. Compression Set
As I mentioned above, when a gasket is heating up, and cooling down it can be a concern. This is because gaskets will take a compression “set” eventually. It can be a concern because the gasket will no longer seal properly. A good example of material that doesn’t take a set easily is silicone rubber. For more information on compression set, we have a blog on that too.
3. How much Pressure is available?
When I’m talking about gaskets, I often refer to pressure as a luxury. Why do I call it that? Well, because it is. Pressure is something that once had can be reduced easier than can be installed. Usually this means you are talking about sponges/foams vs solid rubbers. Solid rubbers have more pressure to seal, sponges/foams are less pressure.
4. Other Environments
These are the wild card qualities that are separate polymers:
-Oils/Fuels
-UV Exposure
-Ozone Resistance
-Other Chemical Resistance
Other Thoughts:
These tips are the first things to consider when considering gasket design. However, on the blog we wrote on cost effectiveness, those are secondary things to consider- and I urge the readers to go over there, and check it out.
Adhesive Backed Gaskets:
We also wrote a blog on adhesive backed taped gaskets. When considering a tape, its a good idea to go check that out.
More Information:
For more information on gaskets, or you are looking to design a gasket, please contact sales@nedc.com. NEDC is a die-cutter/waterjet-cutter of custom gasket products through build to print items.