Acetal Gaskets and Seals

Acetal is a high-performance engineering thermoplastic also known as POM or polyacetal. It combines good mechanical strength and rigidity with low moisture absorption, excellent dimensional stability and low-friction characteristics, making it suitable for a wide range of precision engineering components.

Yes. Acetal can be used for gaskets, sealing rings and other seal components where dimensional stability, mechanical strength, low friction or accurate tolerances are required.

Acetal is a comparatively rigid material, however, so it does not compress and conform to mating surfaces in the same way as rubber, silicone, cork or foam. The most suitable gasket or seal material therefore depends upon the required sealing method, pressure, temperature, media and component design.

Acetal components can typically operate across a temperature range of approximately -40°C to +100°C, although the precise operating range will depend upon the grade of acetal, mechanical load and application conditions.

Where substantially higher operating temperatures are required, materials such as PEEK or PTFE may be more appropriate.

Acetal provides good resistance to many oils, fuels, solvents and industrial fluids. However, it is not resistant to every chemical and can be unsuitable for exposure to certain strong acids, oxidising agents or aggressive chemical environments.

The operating media and conditions should therefore be considered when selecting acetal for a gasket or sealing application.

Acetal absorbs very little moisture compared with many other engineering plastics. Its low water absorption helps the material retain its dimensions and mechanical properties in damp or humid environments.

This can make acetal particularly useful for precision components where changes in size caused by moisture absorption need to be minimised.

Yes. Bluemay Weston manufactures bespoke acetal gaskets and seals to customer drawings, dimensions, samples and specifications.

Components can be manufactured in a wide variety of outside dimensions, inside dimensions, thicknesses and more complex profiles using punching and water jet cutting techniques.

Acetal generally provides greater rigidity, mechanical strength and dimensional stability than PTFE. PTFE offers a considerably lower coefficient of friction together with excellent chemical resistance and a much wider operating temperature range.

Acetal may therefore be preferred where strength, stiffness and accurate dimensions are important, whilst PTFE is frequently selected for more demanding chemical, temperature or extremely low-friction applications.

Acetal is a rigid engineering plastic, whereas most rubber materials are flexible and compressible.

Rubber gaskets are typically selected where the material needs to compress between mating surfaces to create a seal. Acetal is more suited to applications requiring a rigid, accurately dimensioned gasket, sealing ring or associated seal component.

The correct material will depend upon the design of the assembly and the required sealing performance.

Bluemay Weston manufactures acetal gaskets and seals using precision punching and water jet cutting techniques.

Punching can provide an efficient manufacturing method for repeat quantities, whilst water jet cutting is particularly useful for prototypes, smaller quantities, larger components, intricate profiles and applications where dedicated tooling may not be appropriate.

Bluemay Weston can manufacture acetal gaskets and seals in quantities ranging from prototypes and small development batches through to high-volume production runs of many thousands or millions of components, depending on customer requirements.