What Is A Gasket?
Gaskets are ubiquitous in our lives. They're in your furniture, in your car, at work, even in the air, in the sea! A gasket is a mechanical seal between two objects and is used to describe any seal or grommet that holds two things together. also known as an O-ring or washer, You can make gaskets from rubber, plastic, metal, and other materials. The choice of material depends on the application for which you need the gasket.
Gaskets are usually manufactured from a variety of materials, and serve as a static seal between flat surfaces, such as joints. Given the critical function of a gasket in a fluid system, it is important to select the proper gasket for the intended application. One of the key factors when designing and selecting gaskets is the material, which can significantly affect the performance of the component. However, with the wide variety of gasket materials available, it can be difficult or daunting to choose the one that best suits your needs. This is why you should work with an
experienced gasket manufacturer; they have the knowledge and skills to ensure you receive the correct gasket.
As your professional custom gasket manufacture-
Zhongxiang rubber, we’ve specialized in the manufacture of custom gasket solutions for over 12 years, with our own certificated lab. Our professional team has what it takes to deliver a gasket solution that fully meets your specifications and standards. Provide a variety of production and material options to solve even the most challenging sealing applications. We manufacture custom rubber gaskets and seals in a wide range of rubber materials (and compounds) including Neoprene®, Silicone, EPDM, Fluororubber, Nitrile Rubber, Butyl, Natural Rubber, Thermoplastic Rubber, and other Special Rubber. Zhongxiang Rubber offers standard commercial-grade materials and specification-grade materials that meet FDA (Food Grade), REACH, ROHS, and ASTM specifications. The reason that different elastomers offer different mechanical and chemical properties, we offer custom compounds to meet specific high-performance applications.
But as you'll learn, gaskets are more than just seals that prevent leaks. Before you try to figure out the difference between each gasket, let us do the easy work for you and tell you everything you need to know about gaskets!
What Is The Function Of A Gasket?
A gasket is a component of a sealing system, and one of its main functions is to form a seal between two surfaces of other objects. The most common type of gasket is the flat gasket. It has a circular cross-section. (such as pipe gaskets are used to create a seal between two pipes when laying them.) These gaskets allow two stationary, non-moving parts to be locked together, and because of this, they are often molded to fit a specific of static applications.
The gasket material needs to have good flexibility, low density, and high tensile strength. It should also have chemical resistance, temperature resistance, and internal pressure resistance as well as durability. It must also have excellent bonding properties to itself and anything it comes into contact with.
Depending on the application of the gasket, its function is also different. A good gasket can not only play a sealing role but also have the functions of anti-corrosion, wear resistance, shock absorption, and protection.
What Are The 3 Types Of Gaskets?
Gaskets come in a variety of types designed to suit different applications. These include metallic, non-metallic, and semi-metallic gaskets as well as exceptionally high-temperature gaskets tailored for high-performance applications.
- Metal gaskets： The material of the metal gasket is made of imported stainless steel, high carbon steel, and brass through heat treatment and fine grinding. It has the characteristics of high precision, strong pulling force, good finish, toughness, and not easy to break. Among them, the material of high carbon steel has a certain elasticity. The material of stainless steel has very good toughness and is not easy to break. For electronic instruments, mold manufacturing, precision machinery, hardware parts, mechanical parts, stamping parts, and hardware manufacturing.
- Semi-metallic gaskets: Semi-metallic gaskets are also called metal composite gaskets. Semi-metallic gaskets mainly include metal-clad gaskets, metal wound gaskets, metal corrugated composite gaskets, metal tooth composite gaskets, etc.
- Non-metallic gaskets: Non-metallic gaskets include rubber gaskets, asbestos gaskets, asbestos rubber gaskets, flexible graphite gaskets, and plastic gaskets. Soft texture, corrosion resistance, cheap price, but poor temperature and pressure resistance.
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What Are Uses For Gaskets
Gaskets are found in many industrial applications. These include food processing, petrochemicals, pipelines, machinery, electrical equipment, chemical processing, Power Generation, Aerospace, and rail transportation. The easiest way to verify is "If it needs to seal and it's not moving, chances are it's using a gasket."
Examples in the home include gaskets around faucets and doors and windows. Appliances such as refrigerators, and microwave ovens have gaskets that will act as insulation. Examples in the workplace might include gaskets in machines, pipes, valves, and pumps.
As you can see, there is a whole range of gaskets. Most often go disguised under a different name, like seals, washers, or o-rings. And these serve vital functions across a range of applications.
What Are The 5 Typical Gasket Materials Used?
As indicated above, there are many types of gaskets used in all kinds of applications. and there are a lot of gasket materials available, each of which offers unique characteristics that make it suitable for different applications. Each material is preferential depending on the most important properties required.
While gaskets can be made from a variety of materials, one of the first choices is rubber. Rubber comes in a variety of formulations and grades, each with unique properties that make them suitable for different applications:
1. EPDM
2. Neoprene
3. Silicone
4. Nitrile
5. Natural rubber
6. Special rubber, etc
EPDM Gasket
EPDM rubber is a terpolymer of ethylene, propylene, and non-conjugated diene, it is a kind of ethylene-propylene rubber. It resists damage from acids, alkalis, aging, heat, oxidants, ozone, sunlight, steam, and water. Ozone resistance, heat resistance, weather resistance, and aging resistance properties are excellent, and it also has color stability and high durability, suitable for use in outdoor environments. It can withstand temperatures from -40° F to 250° F, intermittent to +275° F.
It can be widely used in automotive parts, industrial products, medical devices, toys, footwear, construction, and electronics.
Custom EPDM seals are commonly used in the following specifications：
- Industrial-grade EPDM
- Commercial-grade EPDM
- FDA approved EPDM
- EPDM sponge
- EPDM foam
Neoprene Gasket
Neoprene is a synthetic rubber produced by the polymerization of chloroprene as the main raw material, It is also known as polychloroprene. It also exhibits excellent resistance to flexing and twisting and broad temperature suitability (-40° F to +230° F, intermittent to +250° F). It can be used in various harsh environments in various industries.
It has good physical and mechanical properties, oil resistance, heat resistance, flame resistance, sunlight resistance, ozone resistance, acid and alkali resistance, and chemical reagent resistance. It has high tensile strength, elongation and reversible crystallinity, and good adhesion. Aging resistance and heat resistance. Excellent oil and chemical resistance. Weather resistance and ozone aging resistance are second only to ethylene propylene rubber and butyl rubber. The disadvantage is poor cold resistance and storage stability.
Custom neoprene gasket material is available for the following grades of Neoprene
- Commercial-grade neoprene
- Medium-grade neoprene
- High-grade neoprene
- FDA-approved neoprene
- Neoprene sponge
- Neoprene foam
Silicone Gasket
Silicone rubber is mainly composed of silicone chains containing methyl groups and a small number of vinyl groups and is a high-performance elastomer. It has excellent high and low-temperature characteristics and can withstand temperatures ranging from -75° F to +500° F. It also resists damage from aging, oxygen, ozone, UV rays, water, and weathering.
Silicone rubber has good air permeability, and its oxygen transmission rate is the highest among synthetic polymers. In addition, silicone rubber also has the outstanding characteristics of being physiologically inert and not causing blood clotting, so it is widely used in the medical field. Silicone rubber can exist a lot in medical devices since its introduction into clinical practice.
Custom Silicone Seal Gasket Manufacturing works with the following silicone grades:
- Commercial-grade silicone
- Medium-grade silicone
- High-grade silicone
- FDA-approved silicone
- Silicone sponge
- Silicone foam
Nitrile Gasket
Nitrile rubber( Buna-N or NBR) is the most commonly used elastomeric material for gaskets and seals. It exhibits excellent resistance to acids, alkalis, gasoline, hydraulic fluids, and petroleum-based compounds. It also has good water resistance, air tightness, and excellent bonding properties. It also can tolerate temperature ranges of -40° F to +212° F.
Excellent oil resistance, high wear resistance, good heat resistance, and strong adhesion. Widely used in the production of various oil-resistant rubber products, various oil-resistant washers, gaskets, sleeves, flexible packages, soft hoses, etc. It has become an essential elastic material in industries such as automobiles, aviation, petroleum, and copying.
Custom Nitrile Gasket Material works with the following nitrile grades:
- Commercial-grade nitrile
- Medium-grade nitrile
- High-grade nitrile
- FDA-approved nitrile
- Nitrile sponge
- Nitrile foam
Natural GasketNatural rubber (NR) is a natural polymer compound with cis-1,4-polyisoprene as the main component. Natural rubber is the most widely used general-purpose rubber. It has excellent tensile strength, resilience, resistance to abrasion and tearing, compression set, and moldability. It also remains soft and flexible at low temperatures. It is suitable for use in temperatures ranging from -60° F to +175° F.
It has excellent properties such as resilience, insulation, water resistance, and plasticity, and after proper treatment, it also has valuable properties such as oil resistance, acid resistance, alkali resistance, heat resistance, cold resistance, pressure resistance, wear resistance, etc. Due to the above characteristics, natural Rubber materials are widely used in daily life, the medical and health industry, industry, transportation, agriculture, and other industries.
Custom Natural Rubber Gasket works with the following natural grades:
- Commercial-grade natural
- Medium-grade natural
- High-grade natural
- FDA-approved natural
- Natural sponge
- Natural foam
Butyl GasketButyl rubber is a copolymer of isobutylene and isoprene. It is extremely airtight with extremely low gas, air, and moisture permeability. it offers outstanding resistance to abrasion, acids, alkalis, heat aging, oxygen, ozone, sunlight, tearing, and weathering. It is suitable for use in temperatures ranging from -60° F to +250° F.
Butyl rubber is mainly used to make the inner tubes of various tires, the inner tubes of tubeless tires, and various sealing gaskets. It is used as linings, pipes, and conveyor belts for corrosive liquid containers in the chemical industry, and used as waterproofing in agriculture materials.
Zhongxiang rubber is manufactured using various grades, thicknesses, and durometers of butyl rubber. Gaskets are available with or without adhesive backing.
Other Gasket Types and Materials
Above, we mainly discuss the most commonly used rubber and silicone gasket materials, but some gasket materials and properties are crossed, the following gasket materials are for reference.
Plastic GasketPlastics are composed of synthetic resins and fillers, plasticizers, stabilizers, lubricants, colorants, and other additives. Plastic gaskets are also commonly referred to as plastic Washers, resin gaskets, plastic gaskets, or nylon gaskets.
Compared with metal gaskets, it has excellent insulation, corrosion resistance, heat insulation, and non-magnetic properties, is lightweight, and is widely used in various fields such as semiconductors, automobiles, the aerospace industry, and interior decoration. The number of materials used is as many as 10, including PA66, PC, special engineering plastic PEEK with the best performance, RENY reinforced with glass fiber, PPS, fluoro resin PTFE, PFA, and PVD.
PA6 GasketPA6 (nylon 6) is a crystalline engineering plastic. It is a high-toughness material with a low coefficient of friction, wear resistance, and excellent self-lubricating properties.
It is also excellent in oil resistance and chemical resistance, so it is most suitable as a mechanical material.
PTFE GasketPTFE (
Poly tetra fluoroethylene) is a versatile fluoropolymer material that works well as a gasket material. PTFE has excellent chemical resistance and a low coefficient of friction. It also has high-temperature stability, good electrical properties, and excellent dielectric strength.
It's also non-porous and inert, meaning it won't react with other substances. Therefore, these gaskets are most commonly used in food processing equipment, pharmaceutical processes, semiconductor manufacturing facilities, and nuclear power plants. Because this material does not support bacterial growth, they are also used in medical devices.
PP Gasket
PP (polypropylene) is a crystalline resin and is a representative general-purpose plastic. And it has excellent chemical resistance, hydrolysis resistance, and electrical characteristics, and is widely used in various fields as a plastic with a wide range of applications.
POM Gasket
POM (polyacetal) is a crystalline engineering plastic. Has well-balanced mechanical properties, and has excellent fatigue resistance, creep resistance, friction and wear characteristics, and chemical resistance, so it has been widely used in motors, automobiles, various machinery, and construction as a metal substitute material materials and other fields.
How to Maintain Gaskets for Optimal Performance.
Gaskets generally require little maintenance, but it is important to regularly check that they are in good condition and handling the pressure of their designated job. Inspecting gaskets frequently, preferably before each use, is essential for maintaining optimal performance. Ensure that any corroded and/or swollen gaskets are replaced immediately to avoid any damage or leaks. Similarly, be sure to watch out for eroded surfaces, loose bolts, and weakened components. Where necessary, keep gasket surfaces clean of debris and replace them with quality seals as needed.
Contact Our Rubber Experts for Your Rubber Gasket Solution
Do you need assistance choosing the right rubber material for your gasket project? Turn to our experts at Zhongxiang rubber, Equipped with extensive manufacturing experience and capabilities, our team can deliver a high-quality gasket, seal, or other rubber product solution on time and within budget. To learn more about our custom gaskets, contact us today. For pricing details, request a quote.
