It’s no secret: we specialize in O-Rings.
Since O-Rings are one of the most common seals used in machine design, it’s important to offer several different variations of sizes and materials to accommodate customer needs.
Apple Rubber O-Rings: Did you know…
We have:
- Over 100,000,000 quantity in stock
- Over 9,000 different size and material combinations
- Over 3,000 AS568 or ISO 3601 size and material combinations
- Over 5,000 micro O-Ring size and material combinations
“When customers call, we have the stock,” says Len Wienckowski, an account executive at Apple Rubber. “With our amount of inventory — including many parts that meet aerospace and international standards, as well as special sizes that probably can’t be found anywhere else — engineers get more variations and flexibility to work with their designs.”
Testing with O-Rings
Apple Rubber carries O-Rings with a few thousandth-inch differences in inner diameter (ID) or cross section (CS), allowing our design engineers to run seal compression tests on applications.
One example where these tests are important is dynamic rod seals — changing the compression force of the seal can lower or raise the force needed for the rod to be successfully placed through the bore.
Ordering O-Rings: In-stock and custom
Apple Rubber offers low minimum order sizes and immediate delivery on O-Rings. Since we have a massive amount of O-Rings in stock, we don’t have to produce each order uniquely and turnaround time is saved — and so is time and money for the customer.
We offer the flexibility for custom work by carrying a wide range of materials and sizes. Customers don’t have to narrow down to what’s in stock. If the standards don’t fit in their application, we can generally turn out a custom order in a relatively short period of time with the specific sizes, shapes and materials needed to seal the deal.
We also have a lot of variation with our range of durometers for their applications and pressure needs. Instead of carrying the average 70-75 durometers, we range from 20 up to 90—depending on the various materials, of course.
As Len Wienckowski notes:
One of the most standard durometers for O-Rings is 70 Shore A. This typically gives an optimal hardness and physical properties. Sometimes engineers are looking to make their designs more robust. Lower durometers can help reduce the force need for assembly for housing seals. Higher durometers can seal high pressure application better, because the higher modulus helps reduce the deformation out of the seal groove.
Certifications and specialized parts
There are certain applications in which customers — many in the propane and natural gas industries — require underwriter’s certification. The industry standard certifying body is Underwriters Laboratories (UL). Testing by UL can take 10-15 weeks and costs thousands of dollars.
Apple Rubber avoids this cumbersome process by carrying parts that are already certified, using UL-listed and UL-recognized materials and compounds like nitriles and fluourocarbons.
O-Rings for the medical industry
We stock standard-size medical-grade O-Rings. Instead of having to wait for a custom order, customers can test their prototypes much quicker.
- Purchasing tip: In addition to low minimum orders and fast turnaround/next day delivery, Apple Rubber accepts credit card orders.
“A lot of people have to go through purchasing, getting RFQs, etc.” Wienckowski explains. “When they can put it on their credit card, they can have the parts in their possession before the paperwork is even through their system.”
On our website, we offer an O-Ring Size Search. Users can enter a range of ID, CS or Standard sizes. This will show the materials and durometers we have in stock for these sizes.
Have any questions about our sizes? Check our on-line search tool on any AppleRubber.com page to make sure we have what you need.