Custom molded seals
Reliability without compromise – let’s design together custom molded seals tailored to your needs
Custom molded seals are highly specialized sealing solutions, designed to meet the precise requirements of applications in all types of industries. Whether it’s sealing the battery cover of a jet ski or the connectors on your spacesuit, the possibilities are endless. Made from high-performance materials such as nitrile, silicone, Viton, EPDM, thermoplastic and thermoset urethane, solid plastics, and many more, these seals are molded to tighter tolerances than other manufacturing processes and will adapt to any complex shape and demanding environments.
Depending on their design, they will offer the desired resistance to high pressures, high temperatures and chemicals to be contained, while ensuring perfect sealing for static or dynamic applications, such as pumps, valves, battery covers or specialized connectors. This can be a very economical manufacturing process in exchange for a certain volume because it usually requires a one-time start-up cost for tooling.
At ELASFOR, we understand that every industrial project is unique. That’s why we stand out for our ability to provide custom molded seals that are perfectly aligned with our customers’ specifications. Do you need a specific design, a material that withstands extreme conditions, or a solution for critical applications? Our commitment to quality ensures durable and reliable sealing solutions designed to meet your technical challenges.
Injection molding - rubbers and thermoplastics
The Injection Molding Process
Injection molding is an essential manufacturing process for the mass production of high-precision, custom-made seals. It is particularly favored for large volumes and parts with complex geometries, which are often difficult to produce using other methods such as cutting or machining. This process begins by heating the raw material—an elastomer, thermoplastic, or polyurethane—until it reaches a liquid or paste state.
This plasticized elastomer is then injected under high pressure into a closed mold, designed with one or more cavities corresponding to the final shape of the seal. The pressure ensures complete and uniform filling of all cavities, guaranteeing the absence of defects and faithful reproduction of the design, including fine details.
The efficiency and repeatability of injection molding make it an optimal choice for ensuring consistent sealing properties from batch to batch. For optimal quality and dimensional tolerances and a competitive unit cost, choose injection molding with ELASFOR.
Flexibility of Shape, Size and Material
One of the key advantages of custom-molded gaskets is their exceptional design flexibility. Unlike standard gaskets, molded parts can be customized in three dimensions, allowing the creation of complex shapes, multiple thicknesses, grooves, bevels, or bellows, to perfectly adapt to the application environment. From miniature size to oversized parts, the tooling design allows for very tight dimensional tolerances, essential for effective sealing in dynamic or static applications.
This adaptability also extends to the choice of materials. Seal performance is intrinsically linked to the selected elastomer, which must withstand the specific chemical, thermal, and mechanical stresses of the working environment. The options are vast: Nitrile (NBR) for oil resistance, EPDM for ozone and weathering, Silicone for high temperatures and food/medical standards, or Fluoroelastomers (FKM/Viton®) for high chemical resistance.
The possibilities are almost endless, let’s develop your custom component together!
Collaborative Design and Example of a Double Lip Urethane Axial Seal
Creating a custom molded seal is a highly collaborative process. We work with your design teams from the earliest stages of the project. This integrated approach optimizes the seal design for manufacturability (Design for Manufacturing – DFM), to analyze the constraints of the application (pressure, temperature, fluids) and to select the ideal material before manufacturing the tooling.
An example of this expertise is the recent design of a double lip axial seal made of polyurethane (TPU) 73duro sh.aUsed in hydraulic or rotary applications, this custom Urethane seal is designed for excellent abrasion resistance and increased protection against contamination. Its axial design, where the lips focus on lateral movement, maximizes sealing effectiveness in the most demanding environments, demonstrating how a simple, economical, and effective custom design can significantly improve equipment performance and life.
We are here for you
Question ?
We are flexible. For expert advice, current project analysis or problem solving to get you out of a jam, just reach out !