Sheet Rubber & Gasketing

Sheet Rubber

Our high-quality, spec. grade and commercial lines of sheet rubber are available in Durometers (hardness grades) from 10-90 Durometer, and thicknesses from .015” to 1.00”.

Specification Grade Sheet Rubber

Ames Rubber Manufacturing offers a complete line of Specification Grade Sheet Rubber that includes:

Open Cell Sponge Rubber

Open Cell Sponge rubbers are gasketing and padding materials composed of connected cells that allow air, gas or fluids to pass through when compressed. These open cellular sponges offer good compression set characteristics, and typically have a better rebound and lower compression set than closed cell sponges. Available in Soft, Medium and firm densities. Open cell rubber sponge is absorbent and should not be used where resistance to fluid penetration is required.

Typical uses of Open Cell Sponge Rubber are:

Closed Cell Sponge Rubber

Open Cell Neoprene Sponge Rubber has good physical properties and good compression set resistance. It also has good ozone resistance and light oil resistance making it a preferred choice for outdoor use.

Open Cell SBR Sponge Rubber is a lower cost alternative to Open Cell Neoprene Sponge with generally lower physical properties and are not oil or ozone resistant.

Closed Cell Sponge Rubber

Closed Cell Sponge rubber sponges are extremely impermeable to water, and a good choice for shock absorption, weather sealing and thermal barriers. Available in Soft, Medium, Medium-firm, Firm and X-firm densities.

Closed Cell Neoprene® Sponge Rubber products meet UL 94HF-1 flame rating. They are generally serviceable from -40°F to 158°F continuous and withstand 200°F intermittently. Premium closed cell Neoprene® sponge products will resist light oil contact, ozone, alkalis and acids, making them a good choice for general enclosure door gaskets.

Closed Cell Blended Sponge Rubber is produced from a blend of Neoprene®, EPDM and SBR, these grades are frequently supplied for general purpose sponge gaskets. These products also normally meet UL 94HF-1 and will take -70°F without cracking. Oil resistance will not be as good as the 100% Neoprene® sponge products.

Closed Cell EPDM Sponge Rubber materials will stand up to outdoor conditions such as water, ozone and indirect sunlight better than Neoprene®. It will generally not meet the UL flame rating without additives and they will not withstand oils or fuels.

Closed Cell Silicone Sponge Rubber is an excellent material for gasketing and padding applications in extreme temperature environments ranging from 0100°F to 450°F. Silicone sponge also has excellent ozone and radiation resistance with high compressibility, vibration isolation, and mechanical resilience.

Closed Cell Epichlorohydrin (ECH) Sponge Rubber products are often specified for under-the-hood automotive gasket applications due to their ability to handle continuous temperatures of 300°F and some light oil and fuel contact. ECH also has very good resistance to weather, ozone, sunlight and oxidation.

Ensolite® Vinyl Nitrile / Neoprene blends of closed cell sponge are versatile, having a temperature range of -40°F to 180°F, and availability in 50 foot continuous rolls for gasketing. Certain Ensolite® products have flame ratings of UL 94V-0 and UL 94HF-1 depending on thickness. They tend to have slightly lower density than most closed cell sponge products, and the water absorption properties are slightly higher than closed cell Neoprene® sponge.

Ames Rubber Manufacturing stocks closed cell sponge rubber for many industries and applications including:

Gasket Materials

Most common elastomers can be supplied in Rolls or Sheet for stripping & Die Cutting applications. In addition, Ames Rubber Manufacturing stocks Gasketing materials including, but not limited to those listed below.

Application of Pressure Sensitive Adhesives (PSA)

At Ames Rubber Manufacturing, we have the ability to apply pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) backing, both supported (with a film or paper carrier) or unsupported (adhesive only), to most sheet , sponge, and gasketing materials prior to die cutting or stripping. PSA on gaskets and strips gives our customers an added benefit of being able to adhere washers, gaskets or strips in place for ease of final installation.

Ames Rubber Manufacturing carries PSA materials in rubber and acrylic base formulas. These formulations display distinct performance characteristics.

Rubber based adhesives are synthetic, non-latex rubbers formulated with tackified resins, oils and antioxidants. They provide good to excellent initial tack and adhesion.

They do not demonstrate good temperature resistance (typically <150° F) or resistance to solvents, sterilization, chemicals or UV light.

Acrylic based adhesives provide resistance to solvents, UV light, elevated temperatures, plasticizers and chemical reagents. They tend to be more costly than rubber-based varieties, but provide better long-term aging and environmental resistance.

They have low to moderate initial tack and adhesion, and generally do not adhere well to low-surface-energy substrates such as plastics.

Silicone based adhesives offer good adhesive tack at a wide service temperature range and is typically used on solid and sponge silicone sheet. This material can be special ordered on request.

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