Gasket Design Services

Stockwell Elastomerics assists designers and engineers in the technology sector by providing material recommendations, samples and prototypes for the gasket design / product design and development process. It is commonplace for silicone rubber gaskets and cushioning pads to be the last components specified in a product design. With vast experience in gasket design, including gasket materials selection knowledge, mechanical engineering services on staff, and familiarity with many industries and applications, Stockwell Elastomerics is uniquely qualified to provide gasket design assistance to customers in their product development process as needed.

Products such as analytical instruments, communication devices and other portable electronic devices that are driving the technology markets must meet strict ruggedizing and sealing specifications. Stockwell Elastomerics’ product design assistance services include application engineering assistance, material selection and samples, rapid prototyping and fast-turn initial production.

---

Material Selection and Technical Data

Stockwell Elastomerics’ core business centers on the fabrication of high performance elastomers such as silicone rubber, silicone foam, silicone sponge, PORON® cellular urethane and fluoroelastomers.

Stockwell Elastomerics’ long standing relationships with silicone rubber suppliers permits access to silicone rubber materials and technical developments within leading product lines such as NORSEAL® (formerly COHRlastic®) Silicone Rubber, Rogers BISCO® Silicone Rubber, Specialty Silicone Products (SSP), GE Silicones and Wacker Silicones. This access enables Stockwell Elastomerics to provide technical answers beyond internal resources. Although this website contains a variety of materials data sheets, please call for additional technical information. As a preferred converter / fabricator, Stockwell Elastomerics is in constant communication with suppliers’ technical departments to provide detailed information to customers.

---

Material Samples and WaterJet Cut Prototypes

With the vast array of materials available today, selecting the exact material from data sheets can be a tedious process at best. Stockwell Elastomerics’ customer service team and applications engineers will help customers through the material selection process. Choosing one or two materials and requesting samples will allow for testing to ensure that design requirements are met. Stockwell Elastomerics has committed resources to provide sample materials to assist in selection; samples may be requested with pressure sensitive adhesives to assure compatibility with the mating components of products.

If an AutoCAD dxf file is provided, Stockwell Elastomerics can waterjet cut a prototype part within several working days. If a need is urgent and the gasket is less than 12″ x 12″, Stockwell Elastomerics can normally waterjet cut a prototype within 24 hours of receiving the dxf file. Please see the listing of materials that are available to support this rapid prototyping service. Kindly include a UPS Red or Federal Express account number with the emailed dxf file and choice of material and thickness.

---

Fast Turn Initial Production

Die Cutting

The AutoCAD dxf file used to provide prototype waterjet cut parts can also be used for initial production if the production schedule is urgent. Stockwell Elastomerics’ waterjet cutting cell operates 18 hours per day, and much of the capacity is dedicated to supplying fast turn initial production in quantities of 10 to 5000 pieces. If the design in conducive to die cutting, the same dxf file may be used to make a steel rule cutting die. These dies can be made in less than one week. Often a project is converted from waterjet cutting to die cutting, as die cutting is a quicker process than waterjet cutting and provides a lower production cost.

Liquid Injection Molding (LIM)

Some solid silicone rubber gaskets are more economically produced by liquid silicone rubber injection molding. A single cavity mold for a simple gasket or seal configuration can typically be designed and produced in 2 weeks. As much of Stockwell Elastomerics’ LIM silicone molding capacity is dedicated to fast turn production, first article inspection is completed and initial production of 1000 to 2000 pieces is typically done within a week of mold completion.

If the project schedule can not wait for the tooling, Stockwell Elastomerics can waterjet cut solid silicone gaskets in quantities from several hundred to thousands of solid silicone gaskets as the mold for liquid silicone rubber molding is made.

---

Gasket Design Articles from Stockwell Elastomerics

Stockwell Elastomerics’ engineers provides gasket design and gasket materials engineering technical tips and frequent blog posts in the Elastomerics Blog on related topics. In addition, the following articles from Stockwell Elastomerics engineers have been published in the Machine Design trade publication and are available online at machinedesign.com.

Proper gasket design can simplify manufacturing and extend product life – Machine Design, 10/21/2010
Summary: Stepping through gasket design. Don’t let gaskets be a design afterthought.

Gasketing done the right way – Machine Design, 7/8/2004
Summary: A guide to understanding gasket design and cushion pads. Includes approaches for prototyping, material choices and standards with a focus on handheld electronics.

Last-resort gaskets – Machine Design 3/18/2004
Summary: A quick reference guide to gasket design. Includes commonly used terms for cutting and material properties. Also, addresses common gasket design flaws.

BISCO® is a registered trademark of Rogers Corporation.
NORSEAL® and COHRlastic® are registered trademarks of Saint-Gobain.