In the fast-paced world of industrial and chemical manufacturing, time is money, and even short disruptions or inefficiencies in a facility can quickly escalate into expensive consequences. While it can be tempting to reach for standard gaskets, “the grab and go” option, in the long run they may not be ideal depending on the specific requirements of your applications.

In this blog, discover when it’s time to move beyond standard gaskets and connect with Expert Gasket & Seal for a custom gasket solution designed to reduce downtime and help your facility save thousands.

When a Custom Gasket Is the Right Choice:

1) Unique Sizing or Dimensions

Custom seals are manufactured to precise specifications, ensuring a tight, accurate fit between two surfaces. This exact fit reduces the risk of leaks, pressure loss and equipment failure, therefore improving overall system performance and reliability.

2) Extreme Operating Environment

Some industries, such as industrial manufacturing, automotive and chemical manufacturing, operate under highly demanding application requirements and difficult conditions that include high temperatures, high pressures or caustic substances that can break down gasket materials. Custom gaskets are ideal for extreme operating conditions because they are engineered with precise materials to withstand heat, pressure and chemicals, ensuring a reliable seal where standard options would deteriorate or fail. As an authorized Durlon ®  distributor and fabricator, we’ve seen strong performance from the Durlon ®  Durtec ®  ETG in these types of applications.

3) Reduction in Downtime and Maintenance

Custom gaskets and molded rubber parts used in manufacturing and industrial machinery can help minimize downtime and ongoing maintenance. When designed specifically for a system’s requirements, they deliver better efficiency and reliability than standard components that may not be a precise fit.

4) Specific and Unique Performance Requirements

Certain applications have precise gasket characteristics, such as minimal leakage, enhanced flexibility or high resistance to compression. Custom seals can be tailored to these requirements, delivering consistent performance even in challenging environments.

If the installation did not begin by checking for damaged or warped parts, then be warned, big problems may lie ahead! Take the time to thoroughly inspect all components of the equipment required for installation. For example, large nicks, deformations and other major surface imperfections in the flange will wear out even the best gasket, so that would need to be resurfaced or replaced before installation.

5) Regulatory Compliance

Certain industries, such as those subject to FDA regulations, require custom gaskets and molded rubber components made from approved materials that aren’t always available in standard offerings. Custom solutions help ensure compliance with material standards while maintaining smooth and reliable system operation.

Is a Custom Gasket the Best Solution for Your Facility?

Then it’s time to contact the experienced team at Expert Gasket & Seal! We’ll work with you to identify the most effective custom gasket solution for your applications.

FDA-approved gaskets are important in the food, beverage, pharmaceutical and biotech industries. Why? Because any product or material that may come into direct or indirect contact with consumable products has strict rules and regulations.

Common Materials Used in FDA-Approved Gaskets

We provide a variety of FDA-compliant materials for our gaskets, including:

• PTFE Sheet and Gaskets
• Durlon 9000/9600 FDA Sheet and Gaskets
• FDA Rubber Sheet Including Nitrile, EPDM, Neoprene, Viton^® and Silicone
• Standard in Line, MPU, I-Line, Q-Line Pipe and Sanitary Gaskets
• Siftex FDA Flexible Connectors
• FDA Vulcanized & Molded O-Rings

Why Are FDA-Approved Materials Necessary?

• Safety and Hygiene: It’s important to find gasket materials that prevent chemical leaching, contamination or bacterial growth.
• Compliance: Using materials that are not FDA-compliant in applications could lead to contamination, posing health risks and potentially violating regulations.

Have questions? Contact the experts! The highly qualified team at Expert Gasket & Seal would love to help you find the best solution for your FDA- approved gasket or seal application.

As a leading distributor of custom and standard gaskets, we know that gaskets play a crucial role in sealing joints and preventing leaks for a wide variety of applications. Improper installation, however, can lead to gasket failure, leaks and costly repairs. To avoid this happening at your facility, check out our top tips to ensure proper gasket installation and long-lasting performance.

 

Choose the Right Gasket

When installing a new gasket, it’s important to first make sure the gasket material is suitable for the fluid or gas being sealed, and can withstand extreme temperatures, pressure and chemical exposure if necessary. We offer a wide variety of gasket materials, including metal, soft plastics such as PTFE and rubber such as Neoprene, Silicone and Viton FKM. Gasket size and thickness are also crucial to proper function, so before installation it’s important to ensure that the gasket matches the dimensions of the joint, including inner and outer diameters and thickness.

 

Clean Sealing Surfaces

To get the best seal from your gasket, it should be applied to surfaces that are as clean as reasonably possible. Remove any old gasket material, dirt, oil or debris from the sealing surfaces using a scraper or solvent, and also repair or replace corroded or damaged flanges before proceeding.

 

Ensure Proper Bolting

Bolting and the selection of appropriate fasteners for gaskets play a crucial role in ensuring the integrity, performance and safety of bolted flange connections. Proper bolting provides the necessary clamping force to compress the gasket and form a tight seal, preventing leaks of gases or liquids in piping systems, equipment and other applications. Without proper bolting, the gasket could lose compression, leading to system failure, so it’s important to make sure that bolts and fasteners can withstand the internal pressure of the system.

 

Inspect Flange Condition

Uneven surfaces can compromise the seal, so it’s important to check your flange for warping, dents or irregularities on the flange surfaces. Also, repair or replace corroded or damaged flanges before proceeding with a new installation.

 

Flange Load Requirements

Gasket materials must receive adequate flange pressure to compress sufficiently and create a tight, continuous seal. This required flange pressure, also known as the “y” factor or minimum seating stress, must be evenly applied across the entire seating area to ensure an effective seal. However, in real-world applications, the pressure distribution is rarely uniform. The highest force is concentrated near the areas around the bolts, while the lowest force typically occurs midway between two bolts. Flange designers must account for this uneven distribution to ensure reliable sealing performance.

 

Apply Gasket Properly

Before tightening your gasket, first do a dry fit to ensure proper alignment. For best fit, the bolts holding the gasket shouldn’t merely be each tightened in turn, but in a pattern of opposite pairs – for example, top/bottom then left/right. We recommend doing at least three passes and tightening each bolt a bit more with each pass to create the best seal.

 

Perform a Final Inspection

Perform a final inspection that includes checking alignment and conducting a pressure or leak test to confirm the integrity of the seal before full operation.

Is it time to install new gaskets at your facility? Then contact us to speak with our experts about your specific project needs and we’ll help you find the perfect gasket solution!

Gaskets and rubber seals are critical components of industrial manufacturing, as they are necessary for operating the machinery and production processes that maintain high throughput and minimize production downtime. Even the slightest deviation can lead to significant issues in performance and safety, which ultimately leads to higher costs at your facility. At Expert Gasket & Seal, our decades of experience combined with the quality materials we use and state-of-the-art technology, ensures that our prototyping has the highest level of precision. Learn more about why precision matters in prototyping and how we make it possible.

Proper Fit Means Proper Function

The primary role of gaskets is to form a seal that prevents leaks and maintains pressure between surfaces. Rubber seals are applied in pumps, valves and other components, and ensure stability under intense pressure by acting as vibration dampeners, insulators or protective coverings. Precision ensures that a prototype aligns perfectly with the intended application, reducing the need for costly reworks.

Improved Performance, Lower Costs

When gaskets and rubber seals are precisely designed to meet the needs of a particular system, they run more efficiently and require less maintenance. Additionally, when high-quality materials are used for prototyped parts, it allows them to more effectively withstand high temperatures, corrosive substances or the intense pressure that comes with specific environments.

The Expert Gasket & Seal Difference

Materials Used:

At Expert Gasket & Seal, we provide quality molded rubber parts from multiple compounds, including:

• Silicone,
• Viton^®
• EPDM
• Nitrile
• Neoprene

We also have FDA-compliant compounds available for food contact applications.

Advanced Technology:

We are proud to utilize optical scanning technology for our prototyped gaskets, seals and rubber parts. This technology is able to create highly accurate 3D representations of physical objects, then utilize lasers to create a detailed digital model of the object being scanned. Check out these great benefits:

• Precision: Optical scanning technology offers unparalleled precision, capturing even the smallest details of gaskets and rubber parts.
• Time Efficiency: Optical scanning eliminates manual measurements and tedious trial-and-error processes, reducing the time required to create an accurate replica.
• Replicate Parts That Have No Tooling, Drawings, or Files: Optical scanning measures the size without needing CAD or other design files.
• Cost Savings: Optical scanning saves money by minimizing errors and reducing the need for multiple iterations.

We are confident that our expertise, quality materials, technology and focus on precision can provide your company with gaskets and rubbers seals that will improve operations at your facility. Contact us today to learn more about our prototyping process!

 

Manufacturers and Industrial companies alike frequently rely on proprietary machines to achieve their business goals. These machines are often custom designed to meet a specific need or function that only these companies can provide. As with all machinery, the machines also rely on gaskets and specific molded rubber parts to ensure their smooth functionality, and due to their unique construction, will require custom designed gaskets and molded rubber parts that can’t be bought as standard pieces. Here are some reasons why custom gaskets and custom molded rubber parts are critical for manufacturers and industrial companies.

Unique Manufacturing and Industrial needs

As mentioned above, many of the machines and systems used in manufacturing and industrial production require very specific and custom design gaskets and molded rubber parts to meet a specific need. These gaskets serve a specific purpose, and a single failure could result in loss of product and their financial bottom line. Custom gaskets and molded rubber parts allow proprietary machines to run as efficiently as possible due to their unique engineering.

Reduction in Downtime and Maintenance

Utilizing custom gaskets and molded rubber parts for manufacturing and industrial machinery can reduce overall downtime and maintenance. When these parts are specifically designed to meet the needs of the system, they will run more efficiently and require less overall maintenance than if they used gaskets that were less than ideal for the system. These gaskets and molded rubber parts are often precisely engineered to provide the most efficient function from the system they’re used in.

Regulatory Compliance

Some industries, like those that must meet FDA regulations, require custom gaskets and molded rubber parts made from specific approved materials. These materials may not always be available from standard gasket producers, so a custom solution can be provided. These types of gaskets help manufacturers and industrial producers meet the required material regulations and keep the systems running smoothly.

In short, custom gaskets and molded rubber parts are critical for manufacturers and industrial companies to ensure their systems continue to function efficiently, reduce overall downtime and maintenance, meet the unique manufacturing and industrial machinery needs, as well as keep within regulatory compliance. Expert Gasket and Seal can help you with your custom gaskets and molded rubber parts in all of the areas mentioned above.

To learn more about our custom gasket and molded rubber parts solutions, contact Expert Gasket & Seal today at (800) 956-8766

In the world of industrial manufacturing, precision and efficiency are paramount. This is especially true for gaskets and seals, which are critical for operating the machinery and production processes that maintain high throughput and minimize production downtime. Traditionally, replicating gaskets and rubber parts could be a time-consuming and labor-intensive process. However, with the advent of optical scanning technology, the game has changed.

At Expert Gasket & Seal, we are proud to utilize optical scanning technology. Find out why we love this technology so much below.

The Power of Optical Scanning Technology:

Optical scanning technology, also known as 3D scanning, has gained significant traction in recent years due to its ability to capture highly accurate 3D representations of physical objects. This technology utilizes lasers to create a detailed digital model of the object being scanned.

Benefits of Optical Scanning for Gasket Replication:

• Precision: Optical scanning technology offers incredible precision. It captures even the tiniest details of gaskets and rubber parts, ensuring that the replicated parts are an exact match.
• Time Efficiency: Traditional methods of gasket replication often involve manual measurements and tedious trial-and-error processes. Optical scanning drastically reduces the time required to create an accurate replica.
• Replicate Parts That Have No Tooling, Drawings, or Files: Manufacturers no longer need to fret about replacing gaskets and parts that are missing CAD or other design files. Optical scanning measures the size without needing computer files, making the entire process easier.
• Cost Savings: By minimizing errors and reducing the need for multiple iterations, optical scanning can lead to significant cost savings in the replication process.

How the Optical Scanning Process Works to Produce Replica Gaskets and Rubber Parts

Scan: First, we take the gasket or rubber part that needs to be replicated and scan it. The original part is placed in the scanning area. The optical scanner emits lasers, creating a detailed 3D model of the object’s surface.

Prototyping: The digital model is saved as a CAD file, which can then be used by our prototyping machinery such as our flashcut system to create a prototype part.

Replication: Once the prototype is evaluated, larger production runs can begin, which allows for mass replication of critical components.

Choose a Gasket Supplier that Uses the Latest Technology

Optical scanning technology has ushered in a new era of precision and efficiency in the replication of gaskets and rubber parts. At Expert Gasket & Seal, we embrace these advancements to provide our customers with the highest-quality gasket solutions.

If you’re looking to replicate gaskets or rubber parts with unbeatable accuracy and speed, consider the power of optical scanning technology. Contact us today to learn more about how we can meet your gasket replication needs and take your industrial processes to the next level.

Boilers play a crucial role in many industries, providing the necessary heat and steam for various processes. Within these high-pressure boiler systems, gaskets are vital components that ensure proper sealing and prevent leaks

The Role of Gaskets in Boiler Systems

It goes without saying that the seals that prevent the immense pressure and heat in a boiler system from escaping are outright critical not only to the function of the system, but to everyone’s safety as well.

Gaskets in boiler systems serve a critical function by creating a secure seal between different components, such as boiler sections, flanges, and manhole covers. The primary role of these gaskets is to prevent the leakage of steam, gases, or fluids, which could compromise the efficiency and safety of the system. By providing a reliable seal, gaskets help maintain the desired pressure, temperature, and flow within the boiler system, ensuring optimal performance. In a boiler system, gaskets need to be designed to withstand the extreme conditions and stresses they are constantly exposed to without corroding or leaking. As a result, it’s critical to have high quality gaskets that use the appropriate materials.

Types of gaskets used in boiler systems

Various types of gaskets are used in boiler systems, each designed to withstand the specific conditions and requirements of the system. Here are some commonly used gasket types for boiler systems:

• EPDM and SBR coated Fiberglass MH and HH gaskets: These gaskets utilize SBR or EPDM material alongside Fiberglass to provide durability that can also maintain an excellent seal with strong resistance to corrosion.
• Spiral Wound metallic gaskets: Flexible metal gaskets, also known as spiral wound gaskets are made by winding metal and filler materials together. They provide an effective seal against high temperatures and pressure fluctuations, making them suitable for boiler systems operating under demanding conditions.
• Non-asbestos fiber gaskets: Asbestos-free gaskets are a safer alternative to traditional asbestos-based gaskets. These gaskets are made from synthetic fibers and elastomers, offering excellent resistance to heat, chemicals, and compression. They are commonly used in boiler systems that require a non-toxic sealing solution.

Expert Gasket: Your reliable source for replacement gaskets

It’s essential to rely on a trusted supplier like Expert Gasket & Seal when replacing boiler gaskets. We provide high-quality replacement gaskets tailored to specific boiler system requirements, which we draw on our extensive knowledge and experience in gasket manufacturing to deliver quickly and effectively. Expert Gasket & Seal offers a wide range of options to meet the many different needs of manufacturers, including custom-fabricated and designed gaskets of all batch sizes. 

To learn more about gasket solutions, contact Expert Gasket & Seal today at (800) 956-8766

There are a variety of materials that can be used to make gaskets. When preventing leaks is the objective, it’s very important for these materials to be reliable and long-lasting. But before determining the right material for your project, you must first consider how your gasket will be used. Here are some things to think about before deciding what material to use:

• What application will the gasket be used in?
• What temperature range will the gasket be used in?
• Are there any potential chemicals that may come in contact with the gasket?
• What type of system pressure will the gasket need to endure?

Once you have determined the use for your gasket, the next step is figuring out the type of material that will best serve this purpose.

There are many types of materials we use at Expert Gasket & Seal to make gaskets. Here are a few popular materials to consider for your next project.

Rubber Gasket Materials

• Silicone rubber is a versatile material that is effective in high and low-temperature environments. A silicone rubber gasket will prevent oxygen from penetrating as well as resist a lot of potential problems, like ozone, UV rays and inclement weather.
• Viton rubber has an exceptionally broad range of chemical resistance making Viton a perfect option for most applications involving oils, fuels, acids, this material boast excellent resistance to oxidation, ozone, and UV exposure.
• Propylene Diene Monomer (EPDM) rubber is used in hot water and steam conditions. EPDM rubber is also used with glycol-based brake fluids and is known for great resistance to ozone, aging and a range of weather conditions.

For compressed gasket materials, here are a couple of frequently used materials in this gasket category.

Durlon Gaskets

• Durlon^® 8500 is a green colored NBR binder/Aramid-Inorganic fiber compressed sheet. This would be a great choice for steam, natural gas and a number of petroleum-based fluids. It will perform in temperatures as low as -100 degrees Fahrenheit and as high as 700 degrees Fahrenheit. The continuous max temperature is 548 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Durlon^® 8400 is a gold colored NBR binder/Phenolic fiber sheet. This type of material is a popular choice when a wide pH range is needed. It’s an excellent choice in chemical, pulp and paper and other industrial applications. This material will perform in temperatures as low as -100 degrees Fahrenheit and as high as 800 degrees Fahrenheit. The continuous max temperature is 554 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Durlon 9000 is extensively used in chemical, pulp and paper, food and beverage, and the railroad tanker industry.

There are many considerations to make when determining which material to use to make a gasket. Once you settle on the type of material you need, Expert Gasket & Seal’s sealing professionals will provide you with the precise gasket you need from our state-of-the-art facility using a traditional die-cutting process or a computer-controlled, die-less, Flashcut process.

To learn more about gasket materials, contact Expert Gasket & Seal today at (330) 468-0066.