Silicone Hatch Seals Resist Compression and Temperature
Elasto Proxy custom-fabricates silicone hatch seals for demanding applications. These specialty gaskets support superior sealing with good compression set and temperature resistance.
Gasket designers want rubber hatch seals that are as tough as the vehicles, equipment, and infrastructure that need them. If a hatch seal can’t withstand compression, it may over-compress and admit wind, water, dirt, or mud. If a hatch seal can’t withstand a wide range of temperatures and outdoor environmental conditions, seal failure can result, too. If you need hatch seals for military vehicles, mobile equipment, marine applications, or HVAC systems, there’s plenty to think about. Fortunately, help is available.
For every hatch seal design, compound selection is critical. As readers of this blog learned last March, choosing the right rubber won’t stop enemy fire, but choosing the wrong rubber can result in over-compressed hatch seals on military vehicles. That’s why although neoprene rubber offers an excellent balance of material properties, this elastomer wasn’t the best choice for the military gaskets that Elasto Proxy inspected. After examining the results of over-compression, we recommended silicone sponge rubber seals instead. Is this same elastomer right for your application, too? (more…)
