Case Study: Kevlar ® Jacketed Rope Gasket
Here at Atlantex Manufacturing Corporation, we pride ourselves on our ability to understand demanding applications and respond quickly and competently with solutions. One such application was brought to our attention in late 2015 by an automotive components manufacturer who was facing extensive downtime and unnecessary material and labor expenses due to repeated failures of an oven door seal.
The photograph to the left shows the original gasket which had been badly damaged due to mechanical hazards and sustained high temperatures.
This industrial oven door gasket experiences continuous exposure to 500°F and is pressed into a channel by a “knife edge” installed on the door. The original gasket, a dual-layer fiberglass construction, was easily able to handle the continuous exposure- Atlantex’s Pyrotherm HD Rope is rated for continuous operating temperatures up to 1200°F. However, due to the excessive mechanical stress placed on the gasket, both the protective outer jacket and sealing inner rope core were unable to withstand the abuse for long.
Initially, the end-user was content with the idea of using the original rope gasket material and sliding another outer protective jacket over the rope. While this approach would likely have worked, it would have resulted in additional time and labor expenditures in the factory. We at Atlantex also have a factory to run, so we fully understand the need for process efficiency and component quality when it comes to our production equipment. Rather than supply the factory with a two-part system which would require “assembly” prior to use, the engineering team at Atlantex was able to utilize our extensive braiding capabilities to develop a customized solution specifically for this application.
By producing a composite rope gasket comprised of Pyrotherm HD fiberglass rope and Para-Tex B braided Kevlar®, Kevlar® Jacketed Rope Gasket, all of the application’s key requirements were met. The gasket is much more durable than before, and our customer was pleased by the surprisingly low cost and small minimum order quantity.
Atlantex developed a durable, long-wearing, high-temperature oven door seal for this application quickly, thanks to our extensive inventory and insistence on fast turnaround. In fact, the initial sample was developed, produced, and shipped directly to the factory via Atlantex’s confidential drop shipment service within 1 business day. From there, multiple rounds of samples were developed and shipped to ensure proper sizing for ease of installation and effective sealing of the oven door.
Thanks to clear and open communication between Atlantex engineers, distributors, and end users, a costly problem which had been a nuisance for years was quickly and easily resolved. Put Atlantex’s solutions-based pragmatic approach to work and see how we can be of assistance to your next problem.