UL Gasket Materials for Flame Resistance and Ingress Protection
UL gasket materials can provide flame resistance, ingress protection, or other specialized properties. For engineers, it’s important to understand what the different standards from Underwriters Laboratories (UL) mean. It’s also worth knowing if UL gasket materials are truly required in your component-level designs. Otherwise, you may “over-engineer” your gaskets and pay too much for materials.
Compared to commodity elastomers, the prices for UL compounds are higher. The minimum order quantities (MOQs) are greater, too. In the case of rubber extrusions, the compounder has to use special tooling to account for different flow rates. The number of suppliers who offer UL materials is also limited. Unless you really need them, UL gasket materials can add unnecessary expenses to your application.
Of course, some sealing and insulation projects require UL gasket materials to meet specific requirements. In this blog entry, the first in our September series about compound selection, Elasto Proxy explains what engineers need to know about UL gaskets for flame resistance and ingress protection. These aren’t the only UL standards for gaskets, but they’re the most common – and they can be confusing. (more…)
Do you know how to install rubber gaskets for optimal sealing and insulation? If rubber seals are installed improperly, small leaks can admit air, water, dust, light, and sound. That’s a big problem for assembly and maintenance personnel who work in industries like mobile equipment, defense, aerospace, stainless steel and food equipment, infrastructure, and medical and health.
Unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) need rubber UGV gaskets that can help protect sensitive electronics from high heat. UGVs also need weather-resistant door and hatch seals, and custom gaskets for cameras and LED lights that can handle extreme temperatures while keeping out water and dust. Manufacturers of UGV electronics, vehicle bodies, and imaging systems must meet different requirements, but custom fabrication can solve sealing and insulation challenges across the UGV supply chain.
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) need rubber gaskets that can protect UAV components from environmental conditions, flexural fatigue, and electromagnetic interference (EMI). Manufacturers of antennas, avionics, and airframes face different sealing and insulation challenges, but custom fabrication offers the UAV supply chain a value-added solution. Elasto Proxy, a leading supplier of specialty rubber products, custom-fabricates the rubber gaskets that unmanned systems need.
Data center cooling systems need to maintain temperatures that support the continuous and reliable performance of information technology equipment (ITE) such as blade servers, networking switches, and routers. If heat isn’t removed from the vicinity of sensitive ITE components, overheating can occur. If servers get too hot, onboard logic will turn-off computers to avoid damage. This protects data center assets, but results in downtime and loss of efficiency.
HVAC maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) organizations need replacement parts for air handling units, air conditioners, boilers, chillers, heat pumps, furnaces, humidifiers, dehumidifiers, and other types of HVAC equipment. HVAC MROs also need to source these replacement parts in low-to-medium volume quantities that meet requirements for cost and quality.
Railcar products for passenger trains include custom seals, gaskets, and insulation for vehicle interiors and exteriors. Railcar interiors require specialized rubber products that meet flame, smoke, and toxicity (FST) standards. Railcar exteriors need reliable sealing and insulation solutions that can withstand tough environmental conditions while protecting passenger health and safety.
