O-rings offered with coloured coatings

Paul Boughton

Trelleborg Sealing Solutions is launching a range of coloured coatings for O-rings. These surface treatments are ultra-thin and resistant to cracking and peeling.

Allowing segregation of similar seals, they demonstrate almost the same properties as comparable clear coatings, facilitating both push-fit and automated assembly.

Simone Frick, the product engineer for O-rings, states: “Ideal for differentiating seals within production facilities, Trelleborg Sealing Solutions offers what we believe is the widest range of coloured coatings available as standard from one seal supplier. Much research has been involved in the development of these surface treatments. Ultra-thin, they have no negative affect on the performance of the elastomer O-ring and have the benefit of enhancing friction characteristics. Offering superior resistance against cracking, unlike some competitive products, they are virtually impossible to peel from their substrate.”

As O-ring materials are usually black, one seal may appear almost identical to another, but can vary slightly in dimension or be of different compounds. A large number of O-rings may be used in one assembly. This is especially the case in automotive components and installing a seal in the incorrect location can cause leakage or even seal failure. For instance, an ethylene propylene diene rubber (EPDM) and nitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR) O-ring can appear identical but the EPDM material is resistant to water and dissolves in oil, while the NBR is resistant to oil and dissolves in water.

An effective and easy means of segregation within a production facility is therefore critical to ensure there are no mix-ups and colour-coding is one of the best ways of segregating O-rings. In addition, as lighter colours can be more easily detected within a black or dark assembly, they can also aid end-of-line quality checking.

Like clear coatings, the coloured coatings improve the friction characteristics of elastomer O-rings. Dependent on the surface treatment, they can make once-only push-fit assembly easier or facilitate automated assembly, preventing the O-rings sticking together during this process.

Trelleborg Sealing Solutions provides a wide range of readily available coloured coatings, including turquoise, pink, brown, green, white, blue, yellow, orange and red. The surface treatments can be applied to most seals, standard or custom, in the majority of elastomer compounds.

For more information, visit Trelleborg Sealing Solutions

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