For those of you not familiar with the Ploughing, I think it would be fair to say it is the equivalent of an annual pilgrimage for our country brethren.  It has been said it is the Electric Picnic for farmers, but I don’t think that does justice to the scale and scope of the National Ploughing Championships.  I will admit I have never seen any ploughing while I was there, and I don’t think my colleagues have either in all the years we have been exhibiting there.  Granted our stand is busy from open to close with minimal opportunity to take in the sights.

It is a testament to the sheer vastness of the exhibition site and the extensive variety on offer that there is no shame in admitting your visit to the Ploughing did not result in seeing actual ploughing.  Yes, there are actual ploughing competitions taking place while you’re trying to fill a bag with as much free stuff as it can hold.

A day at the Ploughing can be an action-packed yet tiring day; there is a lot to see so we’ve compiled our tips to help you get the most of your day out.

1. Plan Your Journey: Managing the traffic around the site is a major operation, and there is a comprehensive traffic plan in place. There are plenty of stewards around to direct you to and from the arena.  For full details read this page; it gives you all the information on accessing the area.  Given the proximity to Tullamore train station, using public transport is a hassle-free idea.  Shuttle buses run from the station to the exhibition grounds.

If you do take the car it is critical to remember where you parked – sounds obvious but it is a vast area and easy to get turned around and end up searching for your car in the brown giraffe car park when you parked in the orange zebra car park.  Take a picture of your location or write a good old fashioned note with your car park number/colour/animal.  At the end of a long day with tired legs, you need the trip home to be as smooth as possible.

2. Weather: Need we say more? Any outdoor event in Ireland is at the mercy of the weather gods.  Pack for all weather scenarios as you will have all seasons in the day.  We have been fortunate with plenty of sunshine over the past couple of years, but you can guarantee there’ll be a rain shower at some point.  We don’t have scattered showers and sunny spells featuring on every weather forecast in this country without good reason.

*Luckily for you, Abbey Seals have your weather needs sorted – bright orange sunglasses for the sun and ponchos for that rain shower available for FREE at our stand.

3. Dress Appropriately: However sunny the weather may be, wear your wellies. There are thousands of people walking around this site for 3 days – it will get muddy. Plus you will be doing plenty of walking so it’s not a day for flipflops or the ballet pumps.

4. Meet up Point: You get separated from your group and of course your phone is dead and you have no idea where the car is parked – how are you ever going to get home? It’s time to go old-school and have a designated meet up place. Whether it’s Gate no.1 or the NPA HQ in the middle of the exhibition ground, have somewhere that everyone in your group knows where to meet up should the worst happen.

5. Children: It is a great day out for children with a playground on site and plenty of animals to see too. Make sure you have them dressed for the occasion too, bring sunscreen, light rain jacket and a change of clothes.  There are baby changing facilities available. Most importantly write their name and your phone number on their arm in case they get separated from you.

6. Go Hungry: There are many food trucks with all tastes catered for plus there’s plenty of artisan food exhibitors too with samples to nibble on and food to purchase.  Bring money, your appetite and a little bit of patience – there will be queues but they move quickly.

7. Essentials: There are a number of ATM’s dotted around the exhibition grounds. Phone charging:  Eir are located at Stand 276 on Row 12 – avail of charging stations there.

8. Pick things to see: Have I mentioned it is a vast area? A day at the ploughing can be long and a little overwhelming with so much to see. If there is something specific you’re in the market for you can take a more targeted approach.  However for most visitors simply spend your day wandering.  Float along the stands picking up freebies and bargains too, stare in awe at the amount of farm machinery there – you may as well sit in that tractor or take a selfie beside that enormous combine harvester.  Check out the sheep and other livestock on display, and yes, they are cooking Angus burgers beside a lovely living Angus cow.  Pop over to the Ploughing competitions and see what started this whole extravaganza, those people are the real talent.

*We are situated at Block 4, Row 15, Stand 342 for the duration of #Ploughing17.  Fortunately for all of our visitors, we have lots of freebies to give out – pens, ponchos, sunglasses & more.  Plus for those bargain hunters among you, we have great deals on our o-ring kits and seal tools.   

Our sales team headed up by Jason Flanagan and comprising of Thomas, Tony, Robbie, Mark & Martin will be on site during the week to answer all your seal & gasket related questions.  Make sure to drop by and say ‘Hello’.

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Recently Jason Flanagan, Sales Director for Abbey Seals International Ltd was interviewed by InBusiness magazine for an article in their latest edition.

InBusiness Magazine is the official publication of Chambers Ireland which represents 60 chambers of commerce nationwide.  Published on a quarterly basis this magazine keeps readers up to date on all the business issues affecting Ireland today, it is an invaluable read for Ireland’s top business executives across all sectors of business.

With a focus on Manufacturing for this particular issue, Jason discussed the advances Abbey Seals have made in our own manufacturing capabilities with Abbey Seals Xpress – the seal & gasket manufacturing arm of the business.  He was also questioned about the potential effects of Brexit and our business plans for the remainder of 2017.

You can read the full issue here http://bit.ly/2vJqZnp

Jason’s interview is on Pg 94-95

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2017 has had a very busy start in terms of the number of exhibitions we have attended.  It started in January with the National Manufacturing & Supply Chain event in Citywest, then CQMS and Hannover Messe in April and two weeks later a trip up North to the Balmoral Show.  This was our second year exhibiting at Balmoral – last year was such a sunny success that we signed up straight away.

A slightly tired but enthusiastic ‘Abbey Seals on Tour’ team headed north for a now four day Balmoral Show.  The event organisers were finally able to increase it to a four-day event incorporating a Saturday with the expectation it would increase footfall and enhance the family aspect of the show.  Their expectations proved to be the reality.

With the sun splitting the stones in 2016, we couldn’t keep up with demand for our fantastically orange sunglasses  and a testament to how popular they were; we had people coming back to us this year looking for more.  Unfortunately there were some rain showers this year but we were prepared for that and had glorious orange ponchos to give out.  ‘Abbey Seals – we’ve got you covered’ could be our new slogan!

From a business perspective it was a positive event; there was lots of interest in our products, new contacts made & plenty of sales of our o-ring kits and tools also.  The prospect of Brexit and speculation about how that will play out in cross-border sales was a popular conversation piece.  However until the finalities of Brexit are upon us, Abbey Seals are keenly trading in Northern Ireland including having 2 Sales Engineers; Robert & Tony, servicing all areas of the North.

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In April, Abbey Seals took the ‘International’ title quite literally and spent a week exhibiting at the largest industrial show in the world; Hannover Messe.  5 days, 6,500 fellow exhibitors and 225,000 professionals in attendance; to say it is an impressive spectacle does not do it justice.  Motion, Drive & Automation is the focus of the show on a biennial basis which features companies involved in transmission and fluid power technologies; the perfect place for Abbey Seals to showcase our extensive range of seals and gaskets to the international market.

The team entrusted with representing the company for the week comprised of Jason Flanagan; Sales Director, Mark Woods; Sales and Thomas McCarthy; Product Specialist or the ‘Dream Team’ as they like to call themselves.

Feedback from the event was extremely positive both in terms of the many new contacts made and the level of interest in our manufacturing and distribution capabilities.  Plus there was the added bonus of having the chance to meet up with our colleagues from the major brands we exclusively distribute for  in Ireland.  Furthermore, in this Brexit era, it was especially important to remind our EU neighbours that we ship to all countries in the EU and also worldwide.

The ‘Dream Team’ returned from Hannover a little tired but very optimistic and booking their flights for 2019.

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Every two years we travel to Molloy’s Quarry of Tullamore for CQMS – the Construction & Quarry Machinery Show.  It was our second time doing this event, once again it proved to be an extremely busy two days.

Doing a niche show such as CQMS means the visitors to our stand are well versed in the products we supply to the sector, thus giving us the opportunity to promote the many strengths of Abbey Seals for their industry.  Telling people about our in-house manufacturing service ‘Abbey Seals Xpress’ and seeing the looks of amazement that we offer a same-day turnaround on standard profiles and bespoke pieces is always a pleasure.  Then we show them the video of the machines in action with the speed and precision they operate at and they are truly impressed.  At Abbey Seals we are committed to reducing our customers’ downtime and Abbey Seals Xpress manufacturing delivers on this.  CQMS and other similar shows are a great way to keep our customers up to date with our advancements and show how it will improve their business.

As always at these events we sell a selection of o-ring kits for Volvo, Caterpillar, Hitachi, Komatsu  and Kobelco machines, plus our large ‘Box Z’ o-ring kits and seal tools including o-ring pick kits, seal twister set & seal hook set. Needless to say, the bargains were snapped up.

We will be looking forward to our next trip to Molloy’s Quarry for CQMS 2019.

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If you have a quirky or unique seal that you need, give us a shout and let us put Owen’s skills to the test.  There are over 140 pre-set profiles however, we are able to customise and create a much wider range of profiles tailored exactly to your specifications.

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What Is An O Ring?

Whichever way you spell it (we don’t mind, but just for accuracy ‘O Ring’ or ‘O-Ring’ is best), an O Ring acts as a seal to keep liquids or gases in or out and lubricants in, dependent on the application. They are called O Rings not because they are shaped in a loop, but because they have a round-shaped cross-section.

O Rings are often referred to as the ‘original seal’ and were first patented in Sweden in 1896 by a Swedish gentlemen by the name of J. O. Lundberg (although it would be 1937 before a patent would be filed in the US by a completely different person).

Since then O Rings have been developed for many varied applications and can cost anything from a few cent to hundreds of Euro/Dollars. The difference in price will be determined by the specifics of the application and how critical the outcome if the O Ring fails. In a small pump, an O Ring failure will cause the pump to seize, with only the inconvenience of replacing the pump. But many will remember the NASA Challenger disaster, where 7 crew members lost their lives because one of the least significant parts in the space craft, an O Ring in the solid rocket booster, failed just after liftoff.

O Rings therefore come in various sizes and thicknesses and are made to withstand pressures ranging from less than 1 PSI to tens of megapascals (thousands of PSI). O-ring seals are commonly made of rubber (typically from one or more of a range of 36 different rubber types and manufactured through one of four methods: extrusion,injection molding, pressure molding or transfer molding), but they can also be made with plastic or metal.

What Is So Great About O Rings?
The amazing thing about O Rings is that they are such a simple solution to what is sometimes a big challenge. They are simple to make and so can be made in huge volumes. Because of this they are inexpensive and reliability can easily be assured when manufactured by quality providers.

Its secret is in the very fact that it is circular in profile. Once in place, typically in a grooved slot, the seal is designed to deform under the pressure, which improves the sealing action. Because of the nature of the most common o ring materials used, a seal can even be maintained where there are small imperfections in the housing, which is ideal in industrial applications where scratches and contaminants can be introduced.

Finally they can be manufactured to any size and specification and a very wide range of materials.

Typical O Ring Applications

O Rings are used in a wide variety of applications ranging from:

• Hydraulic equipment (using oil pressure)
• Pneumatic equipment (using air pressure)
• Typically dynamic applications (equipment with moving parts like pumps with rotating shafts)
• Can also be static applications, like a flange
• Where vacuum or low/high pressure environments need to be created/maintained
• Equipment that run at or operate in high or low temperatures

Sensitive electronic equipment that need to be protected from radio frequency interference

What Are The Key Considerations When Buying Seals?
There are a number of very important things to consider when buying O Rings, here are the most important ones:

• Speed
  The operating speed of the equipment will have a similar impact on the seal as does temperature or pressure. In some cases the smoothness of the surface finish of equipment to be sealed in a high speed application will be very important to avoid excessive wear on the seal or, where the surface is too smooth, causing under-performance of the seal.
• Pressure
  The amount of pressure acting on the seal will be critical to determining the material used. As previously described, a seal is only effective because it deforms. But if the pressure acting against it is too great then there will be excessive deformation leading to extrusion through the mating parts.
• Media To Be Sealed
  Related to the application, it is important to determine the exact media that is to be sealed. Water, chemicals, oil, air, lubricants, etc. all have different considerations and will impact on the material choice.
• Temperature
  Extreme temperatures, whether high or low, will have a direct bearing on the seal material and type. The physical properties of rubber materials mean that at very low temperatures, rubber becomes crystalline in nature (known as the glass transition temperature), while rubber under pressure that is exposed to high temperatures actually contracts rather than expands (known as the Gow-Joule effect). In both cases the sealing properties will be greatly influenced by the type of O Ring material chosen.
• Dimensions
  A relatively obvious consideration, but the important factors are the inner diameter (ID) and the cross section diameter, or thickness. Your engineering team should be able to provide all these to you.
• Compatibility
  Often overlooked, some materials/compounds are not compatible with each other and so those combinations must be avoided. Additionally, where equipment is flushed, the liquids or gases used in this process must also be determined to ensure premature degradation of the seal does not occur.

• Durometer
  In basic terms this relates to the hardness of the chosen O Ring Material. Higher pressure applications will require higher durometers than low-pressure applications.

A note on speed, pressure and temperature:
These three factors are closely related and impact on each other. Therefore ensure these factors are discussed with your seals supplier thoroughly to avoid excessive failure rates.

Abbey Seals International Limited is Ireland’s premier manufacturer of Gaskets and distributor of O Rings and Seals. Established in 1983, Abbey Seals has over 30 years of expertise in gasket and seal applications across virtually every sector and industry, both domestic and international.

Abbey Seals carries 40,000+ variations of O Rings and seals in stock and can assist in the provision of custom O Rings for unique applications.

Our unique approach means that we can have the product you require delivered to your door within hours of ordering; from a single unit to thousands.

Contact Us to find out more about our products or services or to place an order.

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What Is A Mechanical Seal?

Mechanical seals are used mainly in pumping applications (although the principles are the same for mixers, blowers and compressors). In essence, the pump has two main elements; the first being a rotating shaft and the second being the pump casing. Without a seal, the pumped medium (water, waste, oil, etc) would leak and the pump would be ineffective. The mechanical pump therefore creates the seal between the moving part (dynamic) and the stationary part (static). Because of this Mechanical seals are often called many things including shaft seals, pump seals, rotary shaft seals, water pump seal and combinations of these. Whatever you call it, the product is essentially the same.

Mechanical seals or more technically “end face mechanical seals” were designed in the early 1900s but really came to prominence during the post-war boom (late 1940s) in both industrial and domestic equipment sales.

The elements of a mechanical seal are what make it unique. They are:

1. Stationary component (commonly referred to as the seat).
2. Stationary component sealing member.
3. Rotating component.
4. Rotating component sealing member.
5. Spring.
6. Gland plate.
7. Clamp ring

The seal between the stationary component and the rotating component is called the ‘Primary Seal’ and is the most important. However there is a ‘Secondary Seal’, which is typically an O Ring and sits between the rotating component sealing member and the shaft of the pump.

The spring is used to create just the right pressure in the primary seal between the stationary and rotating surfaces.

The primary seal surface in various mechanical seal types come in a vast array of materials, such as Carbon-graphite, Silicon carbide, Tungsten carbide and Alumina ceramic. The choice of material is dependent on the medium (the liquid to be sealed), the pressures the seal must withstand and the temperatures of the medium. Speak with your mechanical seals supplier to determine the best materials for your application.

What Is So Great About Mechanical Shaft Seals?

Before the invention of mechanical seals, mechanical packings or gland packings were used. These worked well in principle, but had a higher leakage rate (not ideal for some applications) and can handle higher temperatures and pressures (thanks to the sprint component).

Additionally, the use of packing in earlier designs caused shaft and sleeve wear that reduced the life of the pump and increased costs. Mechanical seals therefore improve equipment lifespan.

The other benefit is that they are self-lubricating in that their design specifically allows a very small amount of leakage onto the sealing surface, which lubricates and keeps the primary seal from eroding. Finally, mechanical seals require virtually zero maintenance as they do not require periodic tightening as Gland packing would.

Ultimately therefore, mechanical seals are a simple, elegant and cost effective solution to creating a long-life seal in dynamic applications.

Typical Mechanical Seal Applications

Mechanical Shaft Seals are used in a wide variety of applications ranging from:

• Drainage wells pumps
• Wastewater treatment
• Centrifugal pumps
• Self-priming pumps
• Abrasive liquids pumping
• Thick liquids pumping
• High temperature liquids pumping
• High pressure liquids pumping

What Are The Key Considerations When Buying Mechanical Seals?

There are a number of very important things to consider when buying rotary shaft seals that will determine the exact configuration and material choices. Here are the most important ones:

• Dimensions
  You will need to know the stationery component dimensions, the shaft dimensions, the bore dimensions and finally the working length (typically 50% of the uncompressed spring length).
• Media To Be Pumped/Sealed
  It is important to determine the exact media that is to be sealed. Water, chemicals, oil, semi-solids, etc. all have different considerations and will impact on the material choice.
• Temperature
  Extreme temperatures, whether high or low, will have a direct bearing on the seal material and type.
• Pressure
  The amount of pressure required against the rotating component to maintain the seal will be important in determining the mix of components and materials.
• Shaft Speed
  The operating speed of the equipment will have a similar impact on the seal as does temperature or pressure. In some cases the smoothness of the surface finish of equipment to be sealed in a high speed application will be very important to avoid excessive wear on the seal or, where the surface is too smooth, causing under-performance of the seal.
• Compatibility
  Often overlooked, some materials/compounds are not compatible with each other and so those combinations must be avoided. Additionally, where equipment is flushed, the liquids or gases used in this process must also be determined to ensure premature degradation of the seal does not occur.

Abbey Seals International Limited is Ireland’s premier manufacturer of Gaskets and distributor of O Rings and Mechanical Seals. Established in 1983, Abbey Seals has over 30 years of expertise in gasket and seal applications across virtually every sector and industry, both domestic and international.

Abbey Seals carries 40,000+ variations of O Rings and seals in stock and can assist in the provision of custom O Rings for unique applications.

Our unique approach means that we can have the product you require delivered to your door within hours of ordering; from a single unit to thousands.

Contact Us to find out more about our products or services or to place an order.

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BACKGROUND

Diageo is a global leader in beverage alcohol, manufacturing and distributing some of the biggest drinks brands including Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, JεB, Buchanan’s, Windsor and Bushmills whiskies, Smirnoff, Cîroc and Ketel One vodkas, Captain Morgan, Baileys, Don Julio, Tanqueray and Guinness.

Diageo’s St. James’s Gate facility is reputed to produce over 80 million hectolitres of Guinness Draught each year. That’s the equivalent of 8 billion litres. This level of production requires a facility that can rely on every single component, from the largest to the smallest, in its vast array of machinery/equipment to keep running 24/7 and simultaneously provide unfailing quality.

In 2011, Abbey Seals were approached by Diageo as they were looking to consolidate supplier. Up to that point they had been sourcing gaskets and seals from multiple suppliers and were finding it time consuming to ensure that all parts met their stringent quality requirements and met their stated tolerances. This was impacting on production due to excessive time required to source gaskets and seals when failures occurred and so they wanted a permanent remedy to the issues. Simultaneously, they recognized that the costs on these parts should be reviewed in order to enjoy significant cost savings.

THE REQUIREMENT

Diageo’s requirements were four-fold:

1. Find a single company to supply the wide range of gaskets and seals required across the range of machinery and equipment in their facility. This included Soft Cut Gaskets, Steam Gaskets, Seal Packings, Mechanical Seals, O Rings, Oil Seals, Sanitary Gaskets, Gasket Sheeting and Flexible Bellows.
2. Find a supplier that could manage the manufacturing of bespoke seal kits for key equipment in a timely manner.
3. To reduce the procurement overhead for sourcing a constant supply of gaskets and seals that met quality requirements and matched Diageo’s spec and tolerances with zero or minimal deviation.
4. To reduce the costs involved in the procurement process and also in product costs.

THE ABBEY SEALS SOLUTION

Abbey Seals immediately set about solving the procurement overhead issues by providing Diageo with two dedicated account managers; one being an expert in gaskets and the other an expert in seals. This drastically reduced the overhead on Diageo’s procurement team.

The account managers then reviewed Diageo’s requirements across all areas and built a complete profile of required products with corresponding spec sheets and costs. This met their cost saving requirements, but critically also allowed Abbey Seals to establish an on-hand stock-level of critical components and provide a maximum of 24 hour turnaround on 90% of required products.

This solution also allowed Abbey Seals to guarantee quality levels for all products supplied so Diageo could fit with confidence and plan production and maintenance around defined and stable MTBR rates.

Abbey Seals is proud to be the sole provider to Diageo of:

• Soft Cut Gaskets
• Steam Gaskets
• Packing’s
• Mechanical Seals
• O Rings
• Oil Seals
• Sanitary Gaskets
• Bespoke Seal Kits
• Gasket Sheeting
• Flexible Bellows

THE RESULT

Diageo now have a trusted supplier that they can depend on to deliver in quality, price and turnaround. They have enjoyed increased production with zero unscheduled down time. Diageo’s procurement staff enjoy drastically reduced overheads in replenishing supplies of gaskets and seals, with many of the key components available on-hand or manufactured to spec within 24 hours. Finally, Abbey Seals have provided significant cost-savings alongside efficiencies of supply.

SUMMARY

Abbey Seals International looks forward to working with Diageo for the remaining time on St. James’s Gate’s famous 9,000 year lease and beyond.

If you are involved in the food and drinks/beverage sector and need an industry leading supplier of gaskets and seals, contact Abbey Seals International today to discuss your needs further.

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Is A Gasket The Same As A Seal? What’s The Difference?
Firstly a gasket does seal two parts and stops liquid or gases inside from leaking out, but it’s not the same thing as a seal. Gaskets are used where two fixed/stationary parts need to be fixed together and sealed. Seals on the other hand are used where one or both elements have moving parts. This article relates specifically to gaskets, but you can click the link to read our guide on industrial seals.

Why Is A Gasket Required?
No matter how finely two parts are smoothed and how well you bolt them together, at a microscopic level, there will be gaps through which liquids or gases can escape. Where the inner workings of the equipment create heat and/or pressure, the liquid/gas will become more viscous and simultaneously the pressure will force it out from any weak points. This can be catastrophic to a machine running under extreme forces and heat, which therefore requires constant lubrication and heat dissipation, or where the equipment is pumping liquid/gas in a production facility.

Placing a gasket between these parts using a different material effectively ‘fills’ these microscopic gaps and creates an effective barrier to keep the liquid or gases in.

What Are The Key Considerations When Buying Gaskets?

There are a number of very important things to consider when buying gaskets:

• Dimensions
  This includes some basic elements, such as the number and size of bolts (requiring holes or indents) in the gasket and the dimensions of the gasket required (pipe size, inner diameter, outer diameter, bolt hole diameter, thickness, etc). Your engineering team should be able to provide all these to you and the gasket supplier/manufacturer will ask for any other relevant dimensions they need.

Next comes the grade of the bolts required. This will identify the downward pressures exerted on the surface of the gasket and therefore the level of compression. In turn this will determine the type of materials required to form a durable seal.

• Application
  There are many different applications for gaskets. Differing liquids, from water to oil and chemicals; gases, which might be toxic or indeed require protection from external contamination; or even to protect sensitive equipment from electromagnetic/radio frequency interference or leakage of same from equipment. Finally, does the application specifically require non-conductive materials to be used in the gasket?

Whatever it is you are trying to stop getting in or out will have a direct impact on the materials and type of gasket used. Your gasket manufacturer will discuss this with you and determine whether an off-the-shelf industrial gasket will suffice or whether a custom gasket will need to be designed and manufactured for you.

• Lifespan
  A gasket to be used in a part that is serviced regularly will be very different from a part that must remain sealed and fully operational for many years. Lifespan is therefore a very important factor.
• Pressure
  The amount of pressure acting on the gasket will be critical to determining the material used. Already mentioned in the Dimensions section, the pressure downwards will determine how much the gasket needs to deform and the type of material used. However, more importantly is the amount of pressure from inside (or outside) the equipment/pipe.
• Temperature
  Extreme temperatures, whether high or low, will have a direct bearing on the gasket material and type. Temperature fluctuations must also be determined, which will cause extra stresses through expansion and contraction of all materials.
• Compatibility
  Often overlooked, some materials/compounds are not compatible with each other and so those combinations must be avoided. Additionally, where equipment is flushed, the liquids or gases used in this process must also be determined to ensure premature degradation of the gasket does not occur.

A note on pressure and temperature:

These two factors are closely related and impact on each other (as heat rises pressure does too and vice versa). Therefore ensure these factors are discussed with your gaskets supplier thoroughly to avoid excessive failure rates.

What Type Of Gaskets Are Most Common?
The most common gasket types are:

• High-Temperature Gaskets
  Used in high temperature, high pressure and corrosive environments. Most commonly made from metal, carbon and/or graphite.
• Metal Gaskets
  Metal gaskets can be used in many and varied applications from low-stress/pressure/temperature to very high stress/pressure/temperature. They can be flat metal, serrated or corrugated and can be made from very hard metal to softer metal. They may also have a soft filler material for specific applications.
• Rubber Gaskets
  Rubber gaskets are ideal in applications that require flexible seals and may have fluctuating temperatures. It also helps where noise/vibration dampening is a requirement. Made from a wide variety of materials, including PVC, Silicone, Polyethylene, Polyurethane, Neoprene or EPDM; rubber gaskets provide the best combination of flexibility, sealing qualities and durability.
• Soft-Cut Gaskets
  These gaskets are made to easily compress and therefore provide excellent seals in applications that have low bolt load. Typical materials include PTFE, Asbestos, Flexible Graphite, Soft Rubber and Metal.
• Sponge Gaskets
  Made from sponge and foam materials, these gaskets are ideal for moisture, dust, powder, air and gas retention. Used in relatively light bolt loads, they can be made in Open Cell and Closed Cell configurations, whereby open cell provides more compressibility and closed cell does not easily compress and so are ideal for water exclusion and sound/gas retention.

Abbey Seals International Limited is Ireland’s premier manufacturer of Gaskets and distributor of O Rings and Seals. Established in 1983, Abbey Seals has over 30 years of expertise in gasket and seal applications across virtually every sector and industry, both domestic and international.

Our unique approach means that we can have the product you require delivered to your door within hours of ordering.

Contact Us to find out more about our products or services or to place an order.

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