O-Rings’ Surface Finishing

The quality of the finish of O-Rings’ and grooves’ surfaces is a priority feature for the final sealing result and lifetime of the O-ring itself.

Therefore, the surface finishing of the O-rings is something to be taken in serious consideration for specific applications. Usually, for common purposes, the surface roughness grade of the orings is not important, but there are cases in which the roughness control is crucial to assure an effective sealing effect.

When is the O-ring roughness grade determinant?

Vacuum and high or absolute vacuum applications, dynamic sealing, semiconductor production, these are just a few examples of environments in which controlling and limiting the surface roughness is essential.

In some semi-dynamic applications, it’s important to be able to control the roughness of the orings in order to guarantee their right lubrification so that the quantity of oil or grease on the surface won’t exceed the right amount.

ORINGONE’s large diameter O-Rings surface finishing.

Usually, in medium-size and large-dimension orings, the surface finishing is completed with a grinding process using sandpaper and semi-automated machines. In ORINGONE‘s production though, diamond-dust abrasive tools are used, mounted on specific automated machines with traction and tension control that guarantee a stable value of pressure of the tools on the O-Rings’ surface to obtain a correct and constant finishing result.

The table here below reports the surface roughness values found on our orings and it’s clear the difference between a standard and a special finishing.

Horizontal: value found on O-ring’s longitudinal axis direction

Vertical: value found on the perpendicular direction to the longitudinal axis

Designing and producing O-Rings is our daily job. So, don’t hesitate to contact us for any further info or need: write to us, our Technical Team is here to support you.

If you want to know more about O-Rings and their technical aspects, have a read at our Blog posts.