Non-Woven Gaskets


While everyone is familiar with gaskets made from rubber materials, it is less commonly appreciated that gaskets made from non-woven materials are also widely used to service many applications. In this blog, we look at non-woven gaskets and the types of applications they service.

Non-woven materials are lightweight fabric or fabric-like materials that are made from short (staple) and long fibers. These materials are made by placing fibers together and then using heat, chemicals, or pressure to bond them into a cohesive material. The bonding process is what distinguishes non-woven materials from those whose fibers are either woven or knitted together.

Non-wovens include a wide range of fabrics and textiles, including felts and flocks. Non-woven fabrics offer specific properties and characteristics such as absorbency, liquid repellency, resilience, stretch, softness, strength, flame retardancy, washability, cushioning, and filtering, as well as antimicrobial and sterile performance. Due to their specific mechanical properties, non-wovens have good sealing, acoustic, and thermal properties.

Non-woven gaskets: felt gaskets

A felt gasket is an excellent example of a non-woven gasket. Felt, which is compressed wool, has been used for many years to produce seals and gaskets for a variety of applications. Another variant, polyester felt, is produced from polyester fibers and is capable of withstanding higher temperatures than regular wool felt.

Felt gaskets are soft, compliant and possess a high level of resiliency. As a sealing material, felt is resistant to temperatures up to 93°C (200°F) and is capable of absorbing liquids better than many open cell foams. With these properties and characteristics, felt gaskets are often used for filtration and noise-deadening applications.

Non-woven gaskets: cellulose and vegetable fibers

Non-woven gaskets can also be made from cellulose and vegetable fibers combined with a binder to produce an effective sealing material. Gaskets made from vegetable fibers have good resistance to oils and gasoline, as well as water and steam. Gaskets made from cellulose fibers combined with rubber have similar chemical resistance and support higher temperatures.

Non-woven gaskets: cork and cork rubber

Rubber cork, which is a combination of milled cork grain and synthetic rubber, is still widely used to manufacture cork gaskets. Also known as cork rubber, this material combines granulated cork and a rubber polymer (such as natural rubber, synthetic rubber, silicone, nitrile, EPDM, or neoprene) with glycerin-glue applied under heat and pressure. The resulting material is highly resilient and compressible, making it a good choice for many gasket sealing applications.

Non-woven gaskets: EMI shielding

Non-wovens, such as polyamides, can be used to produce EMI (Electromagnetic Interference) shielding gaskets. These gaskets are used in applications requiring sensitive electronics, circuits, and components to be shielded from the harmful effects of EMI/RFI (Radio Frequency Interference).

Non-woven gaskets: ceramic fiber gaskets

Ceramic fiber gasket material is soft, lightweight and resilient, and possesses superior thermal characteristics. Because it can be easily laminated to form thicker seals, flange finish is not crucial when using this material to produce gaskets. These gaskets are often used as high-temperature insulation for sensitive devices and apparatus, as well as for sealing and containing small particles, fuels, and gases.

Non-woven gaskets from CRG

CRG carries a range of non-woven materials from which we can custom cut gaskets for almost any application. For some applications, different non-woven materials can be combined through lamination or bonding to create the desired end-use properties. Gaskets and parts we make from non-wovens can also be supplied with a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) backing.

All gaskets we make are produced using the latest CNC cutting equipment to assure full conformity to specifications and tolerances. Our production facility is registered to ISO 9001:2015, allowing us to control all aspects of our business including order processing, product realization, and continuous quality inspection of our products.

To find out more about the non-woven gaskets we can supply, please contact us at crg@canadarubbergroup.com.