A gasket is a seal that fills a space between two objects, usually to prevent a gas or liquid from leaking between the two parts. Gaskets can be made from materials such as felt or rubber, but can also be produced with beads of silicone or polyurethane.

Liquid gasketing is a popular and cost-effective way to replace molded, die cut and other types of gaskets in automotive and other applications. One or two-component materials, including urethanes, elastomers and silicones, are used to form a seal that prevents leaking and keeps the outside environment from invading the system.

Precise metering, controlled flow and robotic dispensing are crucial to forming the exact profile required by the application. Gasketing technology from Graco is used in products such as engine control modules, transmission cases, medical devices, air and fluid filters, avionics and extreme use electronics.

Formed-in-place gasketing is generally accomplished with a single-component RTV (room temperature vulcanizing) silicone. The silicone is placed around the perimeter of an enclosure, often an electrical enclosure.

Recommended Graco equipment:
• Dispensit 710 Precision Dispense Valve or a Dispensit 715 time pressure valve fed by a Graco Supply System.
• For more accuracy on smaller output applications, a programmable Dispensit 1053 or 1093 Precision Dispense Valve might be used to assure repeatable volume on each part.
• For larger output applications, a Graco PCF Metering System might be used.

In all cases, the dispense valve and feed system would need to be integrated with either a cartesian or 6-axis robot.