Do you know? Extruded Seals made of silicone elastomers are used in the Nuclear Industry because of excellent resistance to: Ageing Radiations

Modern sealing challenges require innovative solutions. Extruded Sealing products are essentially elastomeric (rubber) or plastic devices that are designed to block a stored fluid from leaking out of an assembly. Or for that matter preventing contaminants from making its way into the assembly. Extruded seals are manufactured by continuous forcing of an elastomer or another sealing material via an opening for creating a specific profile or shape.

In sealing products a popular category is that of specialty seals. They are actually manufactured on the basis of customer's specification and also designed for only specific applications. Specialty seals or custom seals as they also called are designed to rise up to the most demanding operating conditions. Taking the example of specialty extruded seals in housing application like doors and windows. They provide:

• Excellent compression resistance
• Superior weatherability and chemical resistance
• Low friction

Materials for extruded Seals
Extruded Seals are made of either rubber or plastic material. In rubber there is a plethora of choices like Natural rubber, Neoprene, EPDM, Silicone, Nitrile, SBR etc. In plastics a very good choice is PVC both the flexible as well as the rigid variety. The image shown here is of Extruded PVC seals:

Typical Shapes of the extruded seals
Some of the typical shapes of extruded seals that are used in various application like metal work, glazing, manhole, door seals are given here:


Application of the Extruded Seals
The extruded seals as already stated is a device that is used for prevention of leaks so it is quite evident that they may be used for a variety of applications. Some of those wide ranging applications are highlighted here:

• Automotive Applications
  Rubber has been a popular product that is in use for sealing purposes in a vehicle. Rubber is flexible and resilient that can be extruded without any problem. Actually weatherstrip or weatherseal is the term used to describe seals for use in automotive windows, door, light, boot, etc. The following images describe a few of the weatherseal.
  
  
  
• Building Industry
  Extruded rubber profile or rubber window seal is used quite extensively in building sector. The extruded rubber seals that are used in buildings are a strip of rubber, that is placed between glass and a window frame for minimizing noises and permeation by gas. Using extruded rubber in this form allows doors or window to fit exactly into their frames. Besides Extruded rubber seal to be used in windows and doors must show:
  • Excellent sunlight ageing
  • Excellent in compression set
  • Good Weather resistance
  • Good Ozone resistance
  • Good resistance to oil

Besides rubber, thermoplastic elastomers are also used in windows and doors, they also offer excellent compression set resistance, along with resistance to weather and chemicals.