Silicone O-Rings: Interesting Facts You Need to Know

Known for their low compression set and retention of flexibility, Silicone o-rings are popular among various industrial applications such as automotive, electronics, medical, and aerospace. Moreover, they have an extremely wide working temperature range, making them a preferred choice compared to their sealing counterparts.

If you want to know whether silicone o-rings are suitable for your applications, we have listed below four interesting facts that will help you know just that.

Fact 1: Offers Excellent Resistance Properties

Silicone o-rings exhibit excellent resistance properties to a wide range of weather conditions, chemicals, and temperatures. Listed below are some of the properties:

• Excellent insulating properties
• Superior resistance to ammonia, isopropyl alcohol, oxidizing chemicals, and acid
• Good aging characteristics
• Temperature resistance: -155° F to 400° F

Fact 2: Various Types and Forms of Silicone

The best part about silicone is that it can be formulated in various types that are suitable for specific environments. The types are as follows:

• Fluorosilicone (FVMQ): ASTM D1418. Exhibits good oil resistance properties.
• Dimethyl Silicone (VMQ): ASTM D1418. Ideal for general silicone applications.
• Liquid Silicone Rubber (LSR): ASTM D1418: Suited for injection molding.
• Phenyl Silicone (PVMQ): ASTM D1418: Ideal for low-temperature applications.

What’s more, silicone also comes in various forms. For instance, LSR silicones are injection molded. Whereas, High Consistency (HC) silicone is ideal for rubber injection and compression.

 Fact 3: Can be Formulated to Meet Your Needs

Silicone seals can be easily formulated to meet certain requirements such as insulation, color, and temperature ranges. Based on the applications, silicone seals can be formulated for highly specific functions such as:

• Can resist fungus
• It is non-toxic
• Can be conductive or insulator
• Can resist freezing temperatures
• Can handle extreme heat
• Any color can be added, including glow-in-the-dark and translucent

Based on the excellent range of working properties, silicone is used in many applications in which organic rubber cannot perform.

 Fact 4: Superior in Medical Applications

Silicone o-rings are medical grade and FDA approved. Due to its non-toxic biocompatibility, silicone is ideal for medical seals and devices. Also, since medical technology becomes more compact, the implementation of microminiature silicone seals is rising in popularity.

Silicone seals are extensively used in the medical industry for many life-saving applications such as:

• Medical pumps
• Implant materials
• IV components
• Feeding devices
• Ventilators

We hope you have gained some valuable insights from this article. From complex to simple o-rings, Harkesh Rubber can deliver a wide range of silicone sealing solutions that are ideal for sophisticated processing capabilities. Get in touch with our experts today to know if silicone o-rings are perfectly suited for your applications.