The surface finish of hardware components in contact with the surface of a seal is critical to the seal performance. In addition to achieving a leak free interface, it can also impact the life of the sealing system.
Elastomer rubbers look very similar – but are they all the same? With many different base groups and recipe formulations, there’s a huge range of elastomer materials suitable for applications with varying temperature ranges and chemical media compatibility. It’s critical to the seal performance to make the right choice.
Tolerances are present in every man-made item as it’s practically impossible to repeatedly manufacture something to an exact size or specification. When manufacturing seals, it’s important to understand which tolerances impact performance (and by how much) to ensure that a system is optimized for overall performance, and whole-life product cost.
How is it manufactured? A question we get asked in the seal design process, but perhaps not considered often enough. How a rubber seal is produced can affect a number of things; the cost, the material choice…even how a part should be designed. All of these can have a significant impact on the performance of … Continued
The foam in your armchair. The strap on your wristwatch. The wheels on a supermarket shopping trolley and beyond; Polyurethane certainly has a diverse range of uses since its invention almost 85 years ago. Aside from day-to-day products; it is also a highly capable and versatile sealing material – and an option that is often overlooked.
PFAS is a blanket term used to describe Poly- and Per- fluoroalkyl substances. There are currently around 10,000 substances in existence that fit this description, with potentially more variants still yet to be produced. Some are already known to be harmful to human and animal health and the environment (such as PFOA and PFOS), and … Continued
Cryogenic sealing means controlling or sealing a media at very low temperatures. This process can be complex and advanced, and spans a range of markets; from pharmaceutical, chemical and refrigeration, to automotive and electronics.
2-Shot moulding is a manufacturing process that allows the co-polymerisation of hard (or soft) plastics and thermoplastic elastomers (TPE’s). We use the 2-Shot manufacturing approach to deliver engineered parts that perform a critical sealing function.
Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is a thermoplastic polymer that can be used in a variety of sealing applications; it is particularly suitable where the application conditions exceed the parameters of elastomeric seal use, but are not as highly demanding as applications that require the use of metal seals.
The use of metal seals as an engineered sealing solution is appropriate where it is not possible to use elastomeric or polymer seals due to extremely demanding application requirements. For example, these could include applications with extremely high temperatures (300°C upwards) and pressures, intense radiation, cryogenic conditions or highly aggressive chemicals.