Elastomerics Blog

Gaskets are arguably the least sexy part of a mechanical design. Equally arguable is that they are one of the most critical parts in a design – especially in wet and outdoor applications. One customer told me they had a million dollar recall due to a bad gasket design, they came to Stockwell Elastomerics to help resolve the design issue. In this particular case, the geometry was fine but the material selection was incorrect. Stockwell Elastomerics was able to work with the customer to develop a proper gasket that met their long term requirements.

With gasket designs all factors need to be considered early, these include: cost, regulations, life expectancy, environmental condition, and manufacturability.  I was recently working with a customer who was at the beginning of their design, and he had come across a Machine Design article that I had worked on a few years back. The article is still viable and helps give some focus when starting a custom gasket design.  Here’s the link to the Machine Design article.

Summary of considerations for gasket design:

• Define function
• Identify regulatory requirements
• Understand environmental conditions
• Material selection
• Consider manufacturability

Other Useful Gasket Design Tech Tips:
Gasket Design page
Tech Tips page

Stockwell Elastomerics is a custom gasket manufacturer with on-staff Applications Engineers available to help with your gasket design.  With onsite die cutting, molding, waterjet cutting, tool-less knife cutting and a very comprehensive inventory, Stockwell Elastomerics is able to offer advice on the right manufacturing method and material for custom gaskets.

For more information about designing custom gaskets, please call Stockwell Elastomerics at 215-335-3005 or complete a contact form for assistance.