For fluorosilicone gaskets, manufacturers of pharmaceutical equipment choose Elasto Proxy.
The pharmaceutical industry uses solid dosage processing equipment to manufacture finished doses of medication in tablet or capsule form. Often, these solid doses are coated to mask the medicine’s taste or odor, protect the drug in the stomach, and to control its release profile. Tablet coating equipment rotates pills and ensures that coatings are applied evenly. This pharmaceutical equipment features stainless steel construction and includes components such as pumps, spray nozzles, and electric motors.
When a major manufacturer of solid dosage processing equipment needed to replace the door and side gaskets on a tablet coating machine, the company asked Elasto Proxy to supply the sealing solution. The manufacturer was refurbishing some used equipment, and needed two side gaskets and one door gasket rather than hundreds or even thousands of parts. Each of the bonded gaskets was thick and large, and the rubber that was required was fairly expensive. Elasto Proxy custom-fabricated a cost-effective solution that met all of the equipment manufacturer’s requirements.
From Compound Selection to Custom Fabrication
The compound the equipment manufacturer needed was fluorosilicone, a silicone-based elastomer that contains fluorine additions for oil, fuel, and chemical resistance. Like other silicone compounds, fluorosilicone exhibits excellent stability over a wide range of temperatures. Fluorosilicones also withstand exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light, ozone, and chlorinated and aromatic hydrocrabons. These fluoroelastomers provide good compression set and resilience, and can be fabricated into rubber products like machine gaskets. Other applications for fluorosilicones include M83528 connector gaskets.
Compared to some other elastomers, fluorosilicones are relatively expensive. When they’re supplied in sheet form, cost-effective manufacturing is an important part of gasket fabrication. Some fabricators manufacture fluorosilicone gaskets using die cutting or laser cutting equipment. These manufacturing methods are suitable for some applications, but die cutting requires tooling and laser cutting can produce burnt edges. Elasto Proxy uses water jet cutting for gasket fabrication. There are no expensive metal dies, no waiting for dies, and no “toasted” edges that reduce material yields.
Water Jet Cutting and Adhesive Bonding
The three fluorosilicone gaskets that the pharmaceutical equipment manufacturer asked Elasto Proxy to manufacture were a perfect match for our custom-fabrication capabilities. At 52” x 54”, the door gasket was fairly large. The two side gaskets were smaller at 32” x 50”, but still required a cutting machine with a large enough surface. The X-Y axis table for Elasto Proxy’s water jet cutter spans 60” x 120” (5’ x 10’), so there was plenty of room for this gasket cutting project. The water jet cutter’s high-pressure heads also made dovetail cuts with speed and precision – and without tooling charges or “toasting”.
For this project, creating two-piece gaskets made the most sense. In addition to dovetail cutting, the equipment manufacturer needed a multi-layer part that required adhesive bonding. So after water jet cutting was complete, Elasto Proxy’s production personnel laminated multiple layers of material together. The finished gaskets were then folded neatly in a box and shipped to the pharmaceutical equipment manufacturer, where the table coating machine was being refurbished for re-sale.
Do You Need Fluorosilicone Gaskets?
For over 25 years, Elasto Proxy has provided custom sealing solutions to partners in a wide variety of industries. With our proven capabilities in compound selection and custom fabrication, we specialize in low-to-medium volume quantities of high-quality rubber parts. So whether you need fluorosilicone gaskets, bonded gaskets, or a unique solution such as thermal-acoustic insulation for military vehicles, Elasto Proxy is ready to meet all of your requirements. How can we help you? Contact us.
