A gasket is a mechanical seal that fills the space between two or more mating surfaces, generally to prevent leakage from or into the joined objects while under compression. Gaskets fill irregularities between less-than-perfect mating surfaces on machine parts. They are commonly produced by cutting from sheet materials. Gaskets are normally made from a flat material, a sheet such as paper, rubber, silicone, metal, cork, felt, neoprene, fiberglass, or a plastic polymer. You can find gaskets in many places, such as cars, boats, concrete trucks, plumbing, food processors and more.
Here at MDI, we make gaskets primarily from rubber and silicone. Silicone is a great option for gaskets because of its outstanding resistance to high heat, excellent flexibility at low temperatures, low compression set, very good electrical insulation and excellent resistance to weather, ozone, sunlight and oxidation.
One example of a gasket is our braking system wiper seal (left), used in cars. The material selected is brake fluid resistant and maintains its properties throughout a wide temperature range, so it does not wear and cause system malfunction.
Where do you spot gaskets in your everyday life?
