At Smart Products, we uniquely build every valve by body material, O-ring, and opening pressure requirements. And, this SmartNews takes an in-depth look at the function, importance, and seemingly endless possibilities of O-rings.


Function
In every valve we offer, O-rings are placed into the cartridge seat (on top of the poppet) to create an internal seal.  We also offer in-line cartridge valves that use an additional external O-ring to secure the placement of the valve and provide an extra barrier against leaks (as featured in the December 2010 SmartTalk).  


Importance
O-rings are a crucial component in our valves because they keep the poppet in place, as well as move forward off of the poppet’s cartridge seat to allow regulated flow through the valve.  To learn more about our poppets, click here.   Because of the O-ring’s key position and role within our valves, it is extremely important that we know the liquids and/or gasses to be used in your application to ensure maximum valve performance. 

Smart Products also takes additional steps to ensure O-rings are up to par such as, double washing them to remove any debris and testing 100% of all our valves to ensure they seal.   
 

Seemingly Endless Possibilities
We offer O-rings in Buna-N (Nitrile), Ethylene-Propylene, Viton®, Silicone, Fluorosilicone, Aflas, Kalrez®, and other materials.  Our vast knowledge of and experience with O-rings allows us to modify them by:

  • Selecting an O-ring material
  • Examining the durometer (hardness of rubber) requirements from a scale of 50 (soft) to 80 (hard)
  • Curing O-rings to affect their properties via various methods (i.e. sulfur, peroxide, etc.)
  • Prescribing a soak test (if needed) to determine chemical compatibility  

Over the years, we have worked with hundreds of thousands of different chemical compounds, temperature requirements, and maximum amount of exposure in both elements.  Thus, we can recommend the ideal O-ring for your specific application environment based on the information you give us.  If you test a lot of compounds and know what works in your system, share it with us so we can ensure every component of our valves will work for your design criteria. 


Once we select the optimal O-ring for your device, we use a silicone mold release to help install the O-ring on the poppet and to help reduce stiction.  If a silicone lubricant will clash with your application, let us know up front or request samples, and we can find another compound to use, such as a Krytox lubricant. 


To review, the O-ring is one component of our valves that we can flexibly work with to ensure maximum performance for the most straightforward or complex systems.  Combined with plastic body material and opening spring pressures, we have millions of possibilities to create the right valve for you.  To get started, visit us online at www.smartproducts.com or call (800) 338-0404.