Category Archives: Product Performance
O-Rings are round cross section torus mechanical gaskets that were originally developed by J.O. Lundberg in Sweden in 1896 and later patented in the United States by Niels Christensen in 1937. An O-Ring can seal in a static or dynamic application, can be inexpensively made, are easily assembled in an application and offer resistance to very high pressures. Niels Christensen was an air brake designer for railway cars and performed a variety of studies in performance of rubber seals on piston
The story of Perfluoroelastomers begins in the 1960’s with the introduction of the first Fluorinated (FKM) elastomer by Dupont which was marketed as Viton® and offered significant improvement in chemical and temperature resistance over standard Nitrile and Neoprene elastomers. Dupont provided superior performance by substituting the highly electronegative Fluorine atom for a proportion of the Hydrogen atoms used in lower performing elastomers. Fluorine is more electronegative than Hydrogen and will remain stable with the elastomer at higher temperatures and is significantly
For applications where rubber elastomers or perfluoroelastomers cannot adequately perform, a valuable option is the use of Teflon crush seals which offer special performance advantages for difficult applications. PTFE materials are more pliable than plastics but significantly different from rubber elastomers. PTFE is a synthetic fluoropolymer composed entirely of Fluorine and Carbon atoms which was originally developed by the Dupont Chemical Company in 1938. Dupont Chemical marketed the material as Teflon and this proprietary material is now sold by the Chemours
Rubber seal suppliers are expected to provide good information on product capabilities, availability or lead time, and, of course, meet delivery commitments; but some suppliers can offer more. O-Rings.com by Boyd Corporation has been supplying O-Rings and rubber seals through a network of rubber seal distributor partners meeting specific requirements from customers in various industries and market segments. We have found that the following industries typically use O-Rings and Rubber Seals in high volumes: Automotive – Engine Components and vehicle chassis typically require
Rubber products, like fasteners and other small components are typically ordered in an economical order quantity and frequently are not all used at the time of purchase. For metal fasteners like staples or bolts, this is not a problem because of the innate stability of these metallic products. In contrast, rubber seals and O-Rings are highly sensitive to temperature, humidity and many other seemingly innocent atmospheric factors that can actually have a significant effect on rubber seals. As an example, carefully
Inspection of manufactured O-Rings to verify proper molding of the rubber seal and removal of defects has occurred since O-Ring production began in the 1940’s. Early inspection processes involved visual inspection for defects identified by Mil-Std-413 which was the accepted standard for surface finish and measurable defects in the molding of O-Rings. An inspection like this allowed rubber seal manufacturers to identify problems before shipping to end-users and to measure the efficiency of their production processes. An additional inspection could be scheduled
Over the years, engineering plastics have largely replaced metal die castings due to cost savings and the broad versatility of molded plastic components. In the field of plastic products, Environmental Stress Cracking (ESC) is a common quality problem. The consequences of these failures are often severe, and frequently these failures occur only after products go into the field. (more…)
Nitrile Rubber, also known as Buna-N and NBR is a copolymer of Butadiene and Acrylonitrile and is the most widely used elastomer at temperatures between -40F and +250F. The popularity of nitrile is explained by its low cost, good performance in oils, chemicals and wide availability. Nitrile is widely used in the automotive, aeronautical, and nuclear industries offering excellent resilience and chemical resistance that makes this elastomer ideal for products ranging from exam gloves to critical automotive seals. Despite the wide suitability
High volume product manufacturers usually assemble small components such as O-Rings, fasteners and other small metal or plastic components with the aid of vibrating feeders that align the component and carry it quickly and efficiently into the installation position. Sometimes, an OEM categorizes O-Rings and Custom Rubber Seals as bulk commodity items, just like fasteners and other small metal or plastic components that may be ordered with similar bulk packaging, but that can be a big mistake. Because Rubber Seals and O-Rings
High volume automotive manufacturers have depended upon “Just in Time” Delivery of essential components for many years. This concept was originally considered the Toyota Production System (TPS) but also considered to be Demand Flow Manufacturing (DFM). There is no question that large items like automotive tires, brake assemblies, electronic components and other automotive components take up a large amount of storage space and represent a high unit cost to keep in inventory at final automotive manufacturing facilities, but this important concept