Custom gaskets can be a great go-to solution for a variety of mechanical problems. They can help you refine a design or avoid compromising your product to make it work with off-the-shelf components. They can also replicate existing products or work as spare parts for old machinery whose manufacturer is out of business.
However, to get the right custom gaskets, you need to be prepared with some information. Its effectiveness is going to mostly depend on your ability to help your manufacturer understand the engineering situation.
Three Things to Know Which Ensure Your Custom Gaskets Are Perfect
1 – Heat and Pressure
There are many different materials a custom gasket can be made from, and one of the biggest factors influencing that choice will be the gasket’s operating environment. How much heat and pressure will it be exposed to? If it will be dealing with high heat or low cold, it will need to be made of different materials than something intended for room-temperature usage. The same is true for the pressure it will be under.
2 – Physical Exposure
The other big factor affecting the material a gasket is made from will be its physical environment: what materials will it be coming into contact with? What will it be attaching to? Will it be coming into contact with any fluids or any?
Don’t forget to consider more uncommon scenarios as well. For example, if the machine utilizing the gasket will have self-cleaning features, you’ll want to know how the cleaning will be accomplished and what chemicals are involved.
Being able to provide this information will usually mean the difference between a gasket that performs well, and one which fails quickly.
3 – Size and shape
Of course, one can’t overlook the physical dimensions of the gasket. This is one area where a good custom gasket shop may even be able to help you refine your design! Thanks to the wide variety of materials, there will be a range of options in thickness available. A smaller, thicker gasket might work better than a larger, thinner one, as an example.
Precision Cutting Service Can Deliver the Gaskets You Need!
For more than 20 years, our waterjet cutting system has produced thousands of custom gaskets to tight tolerances from a wider range of materials than many other shops. Contact us to learn more.
