Rubber Window Gasket Manufacturers and Suppliers

Rubber window gaskets are popular for use anywhere a door or window needs sealing or insulating. They are used frequently, for example, around car windows, around house windows, and at the bottom and/or sides of screen doors.

Rubber window gaskets are typically available in a number of standard styles, including rubber locking gaskets, trim seals, rubber seal, and edge trim. Rubber locking gaskets are constructed with a locking mechanism, so they provide a better and more secure seal between whatever bodies they are held. Some rubber locking gaskets can be secured with a locking key. Common places these gaskets are found include car windshields, lockers, boats, RVs, and heavy-duty equipment. Trim seals are a diverse group of rubber extrusions made from various rubber compositions, each exhibiting different physical properties. They offer the advantages of not only insulation and/or protection from the outdoor environment, but also the look of a finished edge. If a customer so desires, they may be adorned with artful embellishments and given extra support with co-extruded seals.

Rubber seals offer value in that, in addition to keeping the wind, rain, and cold at bay, they have an extra cushion that stifles noise and decreases sensed impact and vibrations. Like the others that came before them, rubber seals are available in a wide variety of lengths, widths, and compositions. Finally, edge trims are rubber extrusions that are quite similar to their cousins, trim seals. Like trim seals, they bring a finished look to any edge and may be adorned with decorative patterns. In addition, one potentially important property that edge trims can have is rubber retardancy.

The materials with which rubber window gaskets can be made include:

• Nitrile Rubber
• Neoprene
• Silicone Rubber
• EPDM (Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer) Sponge Rubber

Regardless of the exact rubber or rubber mix chosen, most rubber window gaskets are formed via the extrusion process. The rubber extrusion process begins with the collection of raw rubber and/or elastomer stock. Usually, this rubber compound is unvulcanized. Once the collection is complete, it is piled into a hopper. When the extruder machine operator is ready, he or she will let the hopper release the rubber stock into a conveyance channel. In the conveyance channel is a large, revolving screw that helps propel the rubber towards the die. As the rubber moves towards its destination, the heat and pressure in the extrusion machine increases.

Once the rubber reaches the die, the force of the pressure that has been building up forces the rubber through the die. The die is an opening made of a steel blank, shaped in the form of the intended cross section of the rubber going through it. As it goes through the die, it takes on its shape. Once it cools and hardens, if the rubber has not already been vulcanized, the newly formed rubber window gasket will likely be vulcanized. During vulcanization, rubber or rubber composites are converted into harder, more durable materials. To work, one or more curatives/additives, such as sulphur, peroxide, or acetoxysilane, are added to the rubber. After this, the rubber is put under great pressure and high heat for a short period of time, a period of time that will render it irreversibly strong and hard.

Rubber window gaskets are available in both standard dimensions and custom shapes, widths, and lengths. The great many material choices available serve customers well, as some are better suited to applications than others. EPDM, for example, works well for applications involving the sealing of glass windows. As they are easy and inexpensive to produce, whether an order is standard or custom, it should ship fairly quickly. If you are not sure which gasket style or material composition is right for you, simply contact a manufacturer, who will be able to point you in the right direction.

 

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