Product Focus – The 400 Series

Kemtron’s 400 series gasket is a solid or sponge silicone rubber with Aluminium or Monel wires embedded within the rubber.

The material is formed as a large block and is then sliced to produce a flat sheet with the wires running perpendicular to the surface. There are around 140 wires in every cm2 of solid silicone, and 95 wires within a cm2 sponge silicone. The wires provide point contact between both mating surfaces of an enclosure which gives an excellent EMC and environmental seal. The points of the wire provide a very low contact resistance with the surface and will penetrate any oxide layer that may form within the enclosure surfaces, ensuring consistent and efficient gasket performance.

The 400 series can be supplied in strips, die cut to custom shapes or fabricated to suit customer designs. A self-adhesive backing can be added to one surface to help with enclosure assembly. compression stops and collars can also be used to prevent damage by over compression.

Different variations of this material are available, we offer solid silicone or silicone sponge to suit various compression requirements, with a choice of Monel or Aluminium wires. Kemtron also offers a Fluorosilicone as a base elastomer in this format, specifically for use within environments where oils, fuels and other contaminants may be present. This product also conforms to MIL-R-25988 GR50.

For applications with severe joint unevenness, low closure forces, and where greater compressibility is required, Kemtron have developed new grades 470/480 of material to fulfil a need that meets the performance of our oriented wire in silicone sponge but with improved environmental sealing qualities. We have achieved this by using a very soft solid silicone with a reduced wire count of 100 wires per cm2 the same as our silicone sponge. The advantages of these materials over silicone sponge are that we can manufacture sheet widths of 150mm with a minimum thickness of 0.8mm as opposed to 1.2mm. Material consistency is a great advantage over silicone sponge as there is no uneven cell structure to consider that affects moisture ingress and closure force.

To read more on our 400 series please click here, or for any further technical information please contact a member of our team on 01376 345118 or alternatively send an email through to info@kemtron.co.uk.