Engineered Rubber Products

NSF/ANSI 61 Gaskets for Drinking Water Systems

Video - NSF/ANSI 61 Gaskets for Drinking Water Systems
Video – NSF/ANSI 61 Gaskets for Drinking Water Systems

NSF/ANSI Standard 61 establishes health-related requirements for rubber seals and gaskets used in potable water systems. Learn how NSF/ANSI 61 can affect your project’s costs, how there’s a difference between NSF/ANSI 61 complaint and NSF/ANSI 61 approved materials, and how water jet cutting and infrared splicing create high-quality custom rubber gaskets.

Custom rubber gaskets that are used in drinking water systems need to be free from chemicals that can leach into water supplies and affect human health or cause unpleasant tastes and odors. Additives such as plasticizers, antioxidants, and solvents are designed to impart desirable material properties, but can react unfavorably with water treatment chemicals such as chlorine. Leachates from rubber gasket materials can also affect the formation of fungi, algae, and bacteria.

Technical buyers and product designers whose organizations specialize in drinking water systems are familiar with these problems already. Building and construction companies also need to understand the risks – and the requirements for mitigating them. By choosing a gasket fabricator that understands requirements such as NSF/ANSI 61, you can source the right materials and receive high-quality plumbing components that support your projects. (more…)

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Infrared Splicing for Custom Rubber Gaskets

Video - Infrared Splicing from Elasto Proxy
Video – Infrared Splicing from Elasto Proxy

Infrared splicing isn’t the same as hot splicing, but both joining techniques offer advantages. Which splicing technique is right for your custom rubber gaskets – and how do these film splicing methods compare to cold bonding?

Splicing joins lengths of extruded rubber to create elastomeric products such as hollow O-rings, low-closure force seals, and large-diameter profiles that are too expensive to mold.  Splicing methods vary, and choices include film splicing, cold bonding, C-press injection molding, and vulcanizing. By working with an experienced gasket fabricator, you can select the right splicing technique for your application.

Each splicing method offers advantages, but film splicing creates strong bonds without adhesives. This joining method also supports fast cycle times and creates strong corners that won’t crack. Film splicing isn’t new, but it’s important to understand how infrared splicing compares to traditional hot splicing. For larger seals, more durable splices, and an alternative to molded parts, IR splicing is a strong choice. (more…)

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Certified Transit Grade (CTG) Seals Resist Flame, Smoke, and Toxicity (FST)

Video - CTG Seals Resist FST
Video – CTG Seals Resist FST

Elasto Proxy custom-fabricates EPDM gaskets made of certified transit grade (CTG) rubber that resists flame, smoke, and toxicity (FST). Technical buyers and design engineers who source custom-fabricated CTG seals can meet mass transit industry requirements and precise project specifications.

Mass transit systems need to operate efficiently while ensuring passenger safety and controlling costs. Bus accidents, train derailments, and subway delays capture the headlines, but the mass transit industry must manage other risks, too. Fires within a cabin, vehicle, or passenger car can do more than burn seats, wall panels, and other interior components. Smoke from combustion reactions can obscure escape routes. Burning materials that release toxic gases can also overwhelm passengers and employees, too. (more…)

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Fluorosilicone Gaskets for Sealing and Insulation

Fluorosilicone Gaskets
Video: Fluorosilicone Gaskets from Elasto Proxy

Fluorosilicone gaskets combine the high and low temperature resistance of silicones with the fuel and oil resistance of fluorocarbons. Some fluorosilicone gasket materials also resist abrasion and provide EMI shielding. Is fluorosilicone the right rubber for your gasketing application?

Fluorosilicones combine the temperature resistance of silicones with the fuel, oil, and solvent resistance of fluorocarbons. Applications for these extreme-environment elastomers include automotive, aerospace, defense, electronics, and semiconductor manufacturing.

For technical buyers and design engineers, however, choosing the right rubber can involve more than just specifying a temperature range, oil or fuel type, and industry. Is flurosilicone rubber right for your sealing and insulation application? If so, what type of fluorosilicone compound do you need? Some provide specialized properties that you might not expect.  (more…)

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Neoprene Gaskets for Oil Resistance and Outdoor Sealing

Video: Neoprene Gaskets
Video: Neoprene Gaskets

Neoprene gaskets are made of oil-resistant elastomers that also provide weather resistance and environmental sealing. Learn more about neoprene rubber’s applications and advantages, and how finished neoprene gaskets are custom-fabricated from standard neoprene profiles.

Neoprene gaskets provide resistance to oils, greases, and waxes; oxidation and ozone; and weathering and water immersion. A type of synthetic rubber (SR), neoprenes are a large family of elastomeric materials that are available in various types or grades. Some are compounded with EPDM or NBR to impart specific properties. Chemical, temperature, and flame resistance varies by neoprene compound, but neoprene rubber is generally known for its oil resistance and use in outdoor applications. (more…)

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Extruded Rubber Seals: Five Types You Need to Know

Extruded Rubber Seals - Video
Video: Extruded Rubber Seals

Extruded rubber seals support complex cross-sections and a smooth surface finish. They include bulb, bulb trim, lip, door, and accordion seals. You’ll find all five types in Elasto Proxy’s catalog, along with many other rubber extrusions that are ready for custom fabrication.

Rubber profiles are made of elastomeric compounds and produced through molding or extrusion. Lengths of standard rubber products are then custom-fabricated to meet application requirements such as length. Rubber molding processes such as injection, compression, and transfer molding have their advantages, but extrusion supports the creation of rubber profiles with complex cross-sections and a smooth surface finish. As a custom fabricator, Elasto Proxy stocks extrusions made of solid rubber and sponge rubber, and can convert these standard products into specialty seals that meet your specific requirements. (more…)

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Adhesive Taping vs. Mechanical Fastening

Video: How to Attach Taped Rubber Parts
Video: How to Attach Taped Rubber Parts

Learn how adhesive taping attaches rubber parts to plastic, metal, and glass surfaces – and why taped gaskets provide a strong, reliable alternative to mechanical fasteners such as bolts and screws. Then, download the Make It or Buy It? E-Book. 

Rubber parts such as door seals, edge trim, and weather stripping can be attached to plastic, metal, or glass surfaces. Mechanical fasteners like screws and bolts are strong and reliable, but installation is time-consuming. The use of adhesive tapes can speed assembly, but taping also offers other important advantages. By understanding these benefits, and how high-strength adhesive tapes compare to mechanical fasteners, you can choose the best attachment method for your rubber parts. If taping is right for your sealing or insulation application, you can then decide which type of taping you need. (more…)

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EPDM Gasket Fabrication: Water Jet Cutting, Bonding, Taping

EPDM gasket fabrication supports environmental sealing and electrical insulation. Learn how Elasto Proxy custom fabricates EPDM profiles into finished EPDM rubber gaskets. Then, download the Sealing Essentials E-Book. EPDM gaskets…

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Extruded Rubber Profiles for Custom Seals and Gaskets

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Learn how extruded rubber profiles are made, and how custom fabrication converts elastomeric stock materials into specialty seals and custom gaskets. Click here for Elasto Proxy’s catalog of standard profiles.

Rubber extrusion is a manufacturing process that creates stock materials or profiles with a fixed cross-section such as a U-shaped channel. First, uncured elastomers are pushed or drawn through a specialized metal tool called a die. Later, the rubber compound is cured through vulcanization, a chemical conversion process that uses heat and sulfur to impart durability and improve mechanical properties.

Rubber extrusion is used with many different types of elastomers, and this rubber manufacturing method supports complex cross-sectional profiles with an excellent surface finish. Because extrusion mixes and blends the raw materials, the cured rubber offers consistent strength and a uniform appearance along the length of the profile. Standards from the Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA) define part tolerances based on physical dimensions and an RMA class of high precision, precision, or commercial. (more…)

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Military Rubber Gasket Specifications

Military GasketsLearn about military specifications for rubber gaskets, and why defense contractors need a custom fabricator that can do more than convert elastomeric materials.

Military specifications for rubber gaskets are designed to ensure that elastomeric materials support the mission by meeting published performance requirements. Standards and specifications for the U.S. military are authorized by the Department of Defense (DOD), and used by defense contractors throughout North America. Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers are familiar with these standards, but may not fully understand how the details of a particular specification can affect purchasing and manufacturing decisions.

Official DOD definitions specify many different document types, but the format of each military standard generally begins with the letters “MIL”. For the defense supply chain, however, complying with what’s inside the standard is what matters. With rubber gaskets, buyers need to choose materials that meet or are tested to published requirements for properties such as hardness and oil-resistance. In addition, elastomeric gaskets for defense-related applications must be custom fabricated to exacting tolerances.

Let’s take a look at two military standards for rubber gaskets: MIL-R-900F and MIL-G-1149C. First, however, we’ll examine a related standard for non-metallic gasket materials.

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