Rubber is also commonly used with cloth or fabric-inserts. Common fabrics include cotton, nylon, polyester and fiberglass. These products will have 1 or more layers of fabric throughout the thickness of the rubber. Generally, the fabric is added to increase stability where mechanical fastening is necessary.

Cork and rubber gaskets are commonly used in sealing flanges where there is contact with oil, fuel or natural gas and where bolting pressure is somewhat low. Both cork and cork/rubber gaskets are excellent when mating surfaces have possible imperfections or don't perfectly mate as they will conform to the surfaces.

Gaskets are commonly used in and around electrical applications. These electrical insulation materials are used to prevent or restrict the flow of electrical current; prevent electrical arcing; prevent electrical conductors from contacting unwanted objects; and other general electrical insulation applications.

EMI stands for electromagnetic interference. Electromagnetic energy can come from many sources and without proper protection, can result in the failure of certain electrical systems.  EMI shielding gaskets can protect electronic systems against electromagnetic interference.

The FDA regulates materials that are in contact with food or beverages during processing, packaging or storage. We offer a number of different materials that are certified to meet FDA standards.

Felt remains a popular material used in certain gasketing applications. Felt is supplied in both wool and synthetic options. Wool felt is made from pressing premium wool fibers together. This type of product is commonly referred to as “pressed” felt.

Fiber-based gaskets are one of the most broadly used categories of products. Fiber products can offer a very wide range of benefits and fit a wide range of applications.

There are primarily two different types of foam, with a number of subsets under these two categories.

Polyurethane foam is a softer, open-cell foam that allows air and liquid to penetrate through the foam. Polyethylene foam is a more firm closed-cell foam that is more dense and rigid.

We process certain thin gage metals as well as some synthetic products that have a thin layer of metal within the material. These products can be offered in a variety of thickness, hardness and supporting material if one is used.

There is a broad range of engineered materials used for gasketing that are referred to as compressed sheet or non-asbestos. Generally, these materials are made with certain fibers (ie Aramid fiber) and other fillers with a rubber binder.

• Teflon Coated Fiberglass
• Grafoil / Flexible Graphite
• Mica
• Nomex / Kapton Laminates

An alternative to other synthetic or metal gaskets, plastic gaskets are durable and resistant to corrosion. Plastic gasket benefits include lightweight, low friction with excellent sealing and insulating properties.

Pressure Sensitive Adhesive (PSA) is commonly used throughout gasket applications. PSA can be used from a temporary means of holding a product in place during assembly to a more long-term permanent manner in which to bond 1 item to another.

Rubber is probably the most widely used gasket material. Rubber is offered in many different styles and grades to meet many applications’ needs. In addition, rubber is commonly available “off the shelf” in most styles, grades and thicknesses.

Closed cell sponge rubber gaskets use chemicals and heat to expand the material and create a “soft” or sponge rubber. Sponge rubber is generally sold by density or firmness. The primary types of solid rubber are also used to create sponge rubber. Sponge rubber is much more compressible than solid rubber and carries many of the benefits of solid rubber.

The guide will assist you in gasket material selection, gasket design and gasket application.  Selecting the right gasket design and material is critical to the effective operation of a reliable joint. It involves taking into account a wide variety of application parameters such as function, temperature, fluid or gas, pressure, UV & Ozone, EMI/RFI requirements and other considerations such as FDA, NSF or WRAS requirements.