Rowe Equipment supplies gaskets of all types to the plastics industry. The materials we use are Garlock, Copper and Aluminum depending on your application. We also have the capability to produce custom made gaskets.
Gasket seals are a vital barrier used for a variety of manufacturing applications. Their function is to fill the space between two irregular mating surfaces and thereby prevent liquid, dust, debris, air, gas, light, or other particles from entering or exiting an enclosed space. Featuring quick and easy installation, and have a tight grip, even in extreme temperature. Gasket seals are commonly used on the exposed edges of metal to create a secure seal and finished appearance.
Solid material gaskets
The idea behind solid material is to use metals which cannot be punched out of sheets but are still cheap to produce. These gaskets generally have a much higher level of quality control than sheet gaskets and generally can withstand much higher temperatures and pressures. The key downside is that a solid metal must be greatly compressed to become flush with the flange head and prevent leakage. The material choice is more difficult; because metals are primarily used, process contamination and oxidation are risks. An additional downside is that the metal used must be softer than the flange — to ensure that the flange does not warp and thereby prevent sealing with future gaskets. Even so, these gaskets have found a niche in industry.
Spiral-wound gasket
Spiral-wound gaskets comprise a mix of metallic and filler material. Generally, the gasket has a metal (normally carbon rich or stainless steel) wound outwards in a circular spiral (other shapes are possible) with the filler material (generally a flexible graphite) wound in the same manner but starting from the opposing side. This results in alternating layers of filler and metal. The filler material in these gaskets acts as the sealing element, with the metal providing structural support.
These gaskets have proven to be reliable in most applications, and allow lower clamping forces than solid gaskets, albeit with a higher cost.
