As technology advances, devices are becoming smaller, more compact and lighter weight. To keep up with the trend, o-ring seals that support these devices are required to follow, which has led Apple Rubber to engineer the MicrOring®.
MicrOring® seals are o-rings that measure less than 1mm in inside diameter or cross-section. The smallest MicrOring® you can find at Apple Rubber measures down to 0.2mm inside diameter. These seals work to support applications in a variety of industries, including medical, aerospace and fiber optics.
Smaller seals create more opportunities to provide solutions for today’s advanced applications. Here’s a closer look at the important benefits of MicrOring® seals.
Small but Mighty
While MicrOring® seals are small in size, their sealing power remains strong—making them a trusted choice for critical applications. These seals are equipped with:
- Low-pressure capabilities
- High-pressure capabilities
- Sealing force resiliency
During the design process, make sure to pay attention to tolerance stack-up of MicrOring® seals. Tolerance stack-up is measured by combining all of the tolerances of the parts in contact with the seal. In MicrOring® applications, tolerance is especially important because the measurement can make up almost half of the o-ring size. In a standard size o-ring, there are often ways to compensate for high tolerance stack-up, such as increasing the size of the cross-section. However, because of the tiny nature of MicrOring® seals, there is little room to accommodate.
New Sealing Opportunities
Industries like medical and electronics are shifting their focus to creating more advanced, compact devices. Smaller products means smaller sealing solutions, which opens up a whole new window of opportunity for micro-miniature o-rings.
The medical industry requires strong, but lightweight sealing solutions to support their advanced technology. For example, implant materials require MicrOring® seals to ensure outside fluids do not penetrate the internal technology. As the size of these devices are naturally becoming smaller, the need for smaller o-rings is critical.
Micro-Miniature Composite Seals
MicrOring® seals can easily be combined with other materials, such as steel, brass or plastic, to create a multi-purpose sealing device, otherwise known as a composite seal. These seals reduce assembly costs and make installation easier by removing extra steps in production. Other important benefits of composite seals include:
- Structural durability
- High sealing performance
- Tighter tolerances
- Simplified seal designs
Apple Rubber can custom design micro-miniature composite seals to meet the specific requirements of your application. Contact an engineer today for more information.
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