O-ring and metric o-ring manufacturers including rubber o-rings, o-ring seals, orings, Viton ¬ o-rings, and o-ring kits.  

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About O-Rings

O-rings are a small circular shaped contraption, typically manufactured from a variety of rubber or plastic. O-rings purpose is to act as a seal and prevent the escape of oil, air and water as well as other substances under high pressure. O-rings are similar to gaskets and often imitate their functions. In industrial applications, o-rings are placed between matched machined parts – for instance, inside of pneumatic systems, pumps and hydraulic valves. O-ring manufacturers use a process (of rubber o-rings) that mixes rubber and other additives in a rubber mixer. Then the material is poured into a rubber press to form a shape. Lastly are the final touches to remove the excess material and finish with a well-shaped product.

O-ring manufacturers use a simple design which is very powerful and reliable for sealing static machine parts. Because of their simple shape, o-rings tend to be fairly inexpensive and are relatively easy to use. O-rings work by creating a barrier around areas of leak risk. O-rings are ideal for the job because they, elastomeric materials especially, transmit stress in every direction upon compression and are able to prevent leakage. Some o-rings are even capable of sealing leaks that have pressures reaching up to 1,000 bar.

Besides being a low cost alternative to other sealing methods, o-rings also have the advantage of using a wide range of materials available for O-ring manufactures. Some of the most common materials used for o-rings include nitrile, butyl, styrene/butadiene, hypalon, silicone, Teflon® and viton. Partly because of the wide range of materials available, one covering almost any environmental need, many industries choose to use o-rings for their sealing applications. O-rings are frequently used in the automotive, water filtration, off road equipment, hydraulics, telecommunications, electrical, medical, pharmaceutical and food processing industries.

When purchasing o-rings, there are a couple general guidelines to keep in mind. First of all, because there are so many different kinds of materials that are used to make o-rings, it is important to know the particular conditions in which the o-rings must work. The varying material compounds that are used offer different lubricities, degrees of hardness, heat tolerances, chemical resistances and other properties. Also, it is good to consider what the particular size and strength needed will be. Additionally, some o-rings need accessories, such as back-up rings, that assist in the operation and function of the o-rings, so it is important to know exactly what is needed before making an investment.

Featured Articles

“Rules of Thumb for O-ring Design ”
http://www.designnews.com/article/CA118944.html
 
“Why 'O-rings,' Seals, etc Let the Water In!”
http://www.processingtalk.com/news/vrs/vrs111.html

Image Provided by Arizona Sealing Devices, Inc.

Types of O-Rings

• Ethylene propylene (EPDM) o-rings are extremely resistant to polar solvents such as alcohols, acetone and MEK. However, EPDM o-rings are not a good choice for applications that involve petroleum oils and greases.
  
• Ethylene-acrylate o-rings are commonly used in conjunction with power steering liquids, transmission fluids and engine oils. Compared to polyacrylate o-rings, these have a better low temperature performance but do tend to swell up more.
  
• Fluorosilicone o-rings have excellent heat stability as well as great oil and fuel resistance, but they should not be used in dynamic applications due to their poor mechanical properties.
  
• Hydrogenated nitrile (HNBR or HSN) o-rings have similar properties to standard nitrile rubber, but are ozone resistant. Some popular uses include automotive refrigerants and high temperature hydraulics.
  
• Kalrez o-rings are made of an advanced material that is being implemented more and more on a daily basis. Kalrez resists over 1,800 different chemicals and is stable in temperatures up to 620 °F; it is also used in aggressive chemical processing, oil and gas recovery and in aerospace and petroleum applications.
  
• Metric o-rings are o-rings whose measurements are specified in metric units.
  
• Neoprene/polychloropene o-rings are made of a material that was the first synthetic rubber. During WWII, it served as the primary seal material, but today it is mostly used in refrigerant applications.
  
• Nitrile o-rings are by far the most popular type of seal material used in the world. Nitrile o-rings are carbon triple-bonded to nitrogen, which provides good resistance to oils and fuels.
  
• O-ring kits are sets of o-rings that are designed to replace faulty o-rings.
  
• Polyacrylate o-rings are extremely resistant to petroleum oils, ozone and oxygen. However, polyacrylate o-rings have relatively poor water resistance and low temperature flexibility.
  
• Rubber o-rings are made of rubber and synthetic rubber materials.
  
• Silicone o-rings are made of a material that is commonly used in hot air applications as well as devices in the medical field.  The silicon-oxygen structure gives silicone o-rings good thermal stability.
  
• Static o-rings are gaskets used in static joints.
  
• Viton o-rings are made of a material that is one of the most commonly used for seals. Its popularity can be attributed to its good chemical resistance and extreme upper temperature limit.