silicone gaskets are popular because of their excellent resistance to water, chemicals, fungal growth, fire, heat, aging and ozone. Silicone has outstanding tensile strength, strength, elongation and compression set.
This versatility and long service life make silicone ideal for a wide variety of applications across a broad number of industries. There are many different types of silicone gasket material, each with its own set of features, benefits and applications. Some of these types are:
Silicone Rubber
This offers lower molding pressures than organic rubber, and has a lower toxicity and odor. It offers good resistance to weather, temperature and fire, and will maintain a proper seal over many years of use. It is ideal for static gasket applications.
Silicone rubber gaskets maintain excellent flexibility in both low and high temperature extremes, remaining functional within a temperature range of -67°F to +400°F. But it is the low temperature flexibility of silicone that makes it unrivalled by any other elastomer.
Silicone Sponge Rubber
Closed cell silicone sponge rubber is ideally suited for use in high performance gaskets as it is flexible and compressible. It’s closed cell structure helps to prevent wicking, and it is usually available in differing grades of compressibility. Some silicone sponge is reinforced with fiberglass, which gives it stability and stops any outwards extrusion under pressure. This type of silicone gasket material is used for heavy water sealing and submersion applications.
Silicone Foam Rubber
Foam rubber silicone gaskets are similar to silicone sponge gaskets. The main differences are that they use platinum cure liquid silicone, and are cast onto a smooth liner to give them a smooth skin.
Silicone foam rubber can have varying cell structures, ranging from very open to almost completely closed. Open cell gaskets are used in varying shock/vibration applications and dust seals, while the more closed gaskets are ideal for environmental seals.
Silicone foam rubber is mechanically stable in both hot and cold temperature extremes, as well as under UV, so gaskets can be used in both high and low temperature environments. It can be die cut or water-jet cut, and, when properly compressed, is good for water spray sealing.
Engineered Materials provides many different gasket materials, including foams, rubber, silicone, fiberglass, silica fiber and ceramic fiber. Visit us for more information.
