Sponge Rubber

Sponge Rubber Fabrications

Advanced Seals & Gaskets Ltd manufacture various fabricated components produced from a range of sponge rubber materials. A fabrication often requires a combination of specialist machinery, usually a selection of saws, drills, buffers and knives, alongside the manual adhesion and construction of the finished product. By choosing ASG for your fabrications, you will benefit from the availability of our CNC oscillating knife, which can automatically cut and drill fabricated parts by reading CAD drawings. Fabrications are often used as a cheaper alternative to mouldings and extrusions for the production of bespoke shapes (as there is no initial die or tooling cost), ideal for when 1 off prototypes or small quantity runs are needed. All our sponge rubber fabrications are made to order, produced using samples or drawings provided by customers, and can take many forms for example multiple material laminating to create composites sheets which are then cut down into gaskets/washers/strip, displays & signage (such as logos/lettering) and seals with flexible joints or irregular angles.

 

What is a Sponge Rubber Fabrication?

Fabrication is the procedure used to turn sponge rubber blocks or sheets of material into custom made 3D usable shapes. Fabrications are created using CNC machines, saws, drills, buffers etc, enabling us to create unique products that usually can not be produced by one single process for example where the item is too big to be produced in one single piece, or where 3D profiles are required such as cubes or cone shapes. Sponge rubber fabrications can be cut from blocks kept in stock, cut from laminated layers of sheet material and even made using a number of smaller cut parts joined together.

 

Why use Sponge Rubber Fabrications?

Fabrications are often used as a cheaper alternative to mouldings and extrusions (as there is no initial die/tooling cost) for the production of bespoke shapes, these are ideal for use as samples or prototypes prior to paying for expensive tooling for mouldings or extrusions for bulk production. They are also perfect for producing props, signs, displays, packaging case/box inserts with routered out shapes to hold specific items in place. Different types of sponge rubber fabrications have their own unique set of characteristics and properties for use in various applications, some are suitable for outdoor use and UV/Ozone exposure, others have oil resistance or are flame retardant. Sponge rubber fabricated parts can be found used in many applications and industries such as electrical equipment, automotive, aerospace, oil and gas, chemical industries and food/drink/pharmaceutical processing industries.

 

Different Grades

There are different types of sponge rubber available for use within many industries each with its own unique characteristics. Popular types of fabricated sponge rubber include:

EPDM sponge rubber is a high-quality material with excellent weathering, UV and ozone resistance, making it ideal for outdoor seating. EPDM sponge rubber sheets offer a wide operating temperature range, acoustic, thermal and vibration dampening properties and also good mechanical strength and abrasion-resistant properties.   

Neoprene sponge rubber is a versatile material, featuring good resilience and resistance to UV and ozone. It has a working temperature range of -40ºc to +115ºc, good chemical stability, and good general resistance to oils and petroleum-based fuels.

EPDM/Neoprene blend sponge rubber offers stability, flexibility and durability. Neoprene/EPDM blend sponge rubber is resistant to UV light, ozone exposure and weathering, its closed-cell and non-porous making it air and water-resistant has excellent ageing properties, good resistance to acid and some resistance to oil. Neoprene/EPDM blend has a wide working temperature range of -40º to + 85º and has flame retardant properties conforming to classification UL94 HF1. 

Flame Retardant Neoprene is grey in colour, can handle continuous temperatures from -40°C to 115°C and subject to more vigorous fire testing ( FMVSS 302, UL94, AFNOR P9750), this makes the material ideal for use within construction and transport applications where a flame-resistant barrier may be required. 

 

Benefits of Sponge Rubber Fabrications

Fabricated sponge rubber products offer a range of benefits, not only are they more cost-effective than mouldings and extrusions, but they also enable us to produce a number of variations of the same product for testing and prototypes. Fabricating parts allows us to produce composite material sheets which add extra mechanical properties and resistance to the product and also allows us to offer products for even the most unique applications.  Sponge rubber fabrications are perfect for producing props, signs, displays, packaging case/box inserts with routered out shapes to hold specific items in place. Different types of sponge rubber fabrications have their own unique set of characteristics and properties for use in various applications with some being suitable for outdoor use and UV/Ozone exposure whilst others may be oil resistant or are flame retardant.