From meters to fuse boxes to enclosed lighting, you’re surrounded by electrical components on the job. Most of them have gaskets just inside the electrical enclosure to stop outside particles from getting into the wiring compartment. But are your current gaskets the right fit and material for your work environment? Do they protect your electrical enclosures from rain or harmful airborne particles? Are there any gaps or signs of wear? You might not know the answers to these questions, and the consequences could be dire for your business.
An inefficient design for electrical enclosure gaskets can allow gases and liquids to leak into your devices. This can cause everything from system failures that require time-consuming repairs to fires that put your facility and employees at risk. A molded gasket allows an all-around customized fit that can protect your electrical enclosures against harmful debris, gases, and liquids.
Aero Rubber Company works with molded parts every day and can help you optimize your gaskets for the protection you need. With Aero in your corner, sudden electrical equipment failures due to leaking gaskets can become a concern of the past.
Why Molded Gaskets?
Electrical components are expensive. Using gaskets that leave gaps or break down in your work environment can jeopardize your budget and your employees’ safety. Custom molded gaskets can help eliminate some of the biggest risks by offering the most complex design of any gasketing method.
When you work with Aero for your molded gasket, we’ll help you identify opportunities to make your gaskets more effective. Our sales engineers are ready to guide you through the process of optimizing the protection around your electrical enclosure.
Customized Fit
A molded part has greater design flexibility and gives you more control over your gasket profile. Molded gaskets have more depth and more design capabilities to fully seal your electrical enclosure. You can add ribs and other complex points of contact to the design to enhance the gasket. A gasket that is custom molded into the shape you need makes it nearly impossible for outside particles to breach the enclosure.
Adaptive Design
A molded gasket also provides a higher level of protection for your electrical enclosures thanks to its adaptability. Most mating surfaces will have minor inconsistencies by default. A molded gasket’s robust nature compensates for any gaps in your enclosure that a flat gasket would leave vulnerable. This means more contact between the surfaces of your electrical enclosure, significantly reducing the chances of leakage or contamination.
Molded parts have far more design flexibility than a flat gasket and can create the seamless protection your electrical enclosures demand. Aero’s sales engineers can review any concerns you have about your current design. Your team will also offer tips on developing top-quality molded gaskets for better security of your electrical enclosures.
Airtight & Watertight Molded Gaskets
Electrical components at a job site are often exposed to elements in the air as well as water and other liquids. If not enclosed properly, particles and fluids can erode your gasket over time and eventually damage your equipment. This type of contamination can lead to everything from breakdown of parts to minor system failures to fires and other critical safety hazards. A molded gasket blocks debris, water, chemicals, and other fluids from entering the device.
Outdoor Worksites
Airtight and watertight molded gaskets are ideal for enclosed electrical devices and components used in outdoor environments. Here are a few instances where switching to a gasket with this type of specialized molded gasket could really pay off.
Essential oil fans are delighted, but could their solution apply to your business? Oil, fluids, food, and everyday environments can ruin labels, making it hard for customers to identify your products. But what if there were a better way? Would you want a label that wasn’t affected by oil, could be washed, reused, and looked great time and time again?
The Challenge
This struggle was all too common for essential oil enthusiasts Colleen Anthony and Dina Susich, Co-owners of EO Bandz. What started as a hobby, turned into a successful business filling an essential need. When Colleen began mixing her own essential oil blends, she labeled her bottles with stickers, like many other oil users.
The problem was that the stickers weren’t performing the way she needed. “It was extremely frustrating to spend money on precious oils only to throw the contents away because the stickers fell off,” she explained.
Even more important to Colleen was knowing the contents of her bottles for her family’s safety. “You need to know what’s in your containers for yourself and your kids. I just wanted something that told me what I was giving my daughter.” Colleen’s concerns led her on a search for an oil-resistant labeling method that she could share with other essential oil users.
“It just seemed like a simple solution to have labels that would last.” —Colleen Anthony, Co-owner of EO Bandz
The Search for a Label
Colleen started with trying to optimize the most popular option for essential oil labels—stickers. She attempted every method from paper covered with packaging tape to custom printed label sheets, but she kept ending up with the same issues. Labeling with stickers left bottles slippery and prone to smudged writing from the oils. Once the labels became unreadable or came off completely, she had to choose between wasting her carefully crafted oils and the risk of guessing the contents.
Labels that did stay in place still had to be scraped off empty bottles so they could be boiled for the next batch. “You can spend $1.75 for a vinyl sticker that’s printed in cursive, but it’s not reusable,” Colleen explained. “And if you use oils daily, the stickers maybe last a week.”
Bottom line: no solution was cost-effective. Every existing option left Colleen right back at square one, going through costly solutions that didn’t cover all of essential oil users’ needs.
The Fix
Having exhausted all conventional options, Colleen headed to the hardware store where she found something close to what she was looking for—o-rings. They would provide the durability and grip she wanted for her bottles along with being reusable. However, the o-rings didn’t have the customization options that she really needed to tell her bottles apart.
With their final goal in mind, a simple internet search led partners Colleen and Dina to Aero Rubber’s PromoStretch® Silicone Bands. Despite reaching out to a few companies, Aero Rubber was the only company to return their call. After chatting with a Sales Engineer, they found that Aero’s pricing was competitive and that our product could easily provide customization, a sure grip, and the reusability and durability they wanted for essential oil bottle labels. And there was an added bonus of tons of color choices.
The Benefits
Color Variety
For the duo, one of the most important things they were looking for with the bands was a wide color range. Aero Rubber’s PromoStretch® bands were able to offer approximate matches for any Pantone color. This allowed Colleen and Dina to take a more intuitive approach to choosing the colors of their bands.
“We think people kind of expect the color to represent the plant,” they said of their strategy. “We just went with what the word feels like.” Thus, peaceful labels like “Harmony” and “Tranquil” took on green tones straight from nature, and labels like “Stronger” and “Love” became vibrant reds. Thanks to the vast color range available in PromoStretch® bands, EO Bandz now has bands in over one hundred colors.
Printing Capabilities
By far, one of the biggest advantages to PromoStretch® bands over o-rings was their ability to take on a print to differentiate each bottle’s contents beyond just the color. “You can buy plain silicone bands anywhere in the size we would use, but it defeats the purpose if there’s no label on it,” Colleen and Dina explained. “You can buy a bunch of green bands, but there are so many things that can be green that it makes no sense.”
With Aero’s silicone PromoStretch® bands, the silicone can be custom printed with words or images in any Pantone color. EO Bandz are printed with crisp, clean capital letters in either black or white for a streamlined look. Aero’s ink is specially formulated for silicone and won’t rub off easily, so customers have labeling they can count on for multiple uses.
Reusability
For EO Bandz, reusability is the main reason for choosing PromoStretch® bands and their customers love it. Colleen and Dina have even taken reusability to the next level, offering customers a way to recycle their old bands through a silicone recycling company free of charge.
Added Durability & Grip
One bonus of the bands was the ease of transport for essential oil bottles. Colleen and Dina noted that most essential oil users carry multiple bottles together in a bag, which can sometimes chip the glass bottles. Using EO Bandz provides a buffer between the bottles so they can be carried more discreetly and safely. The silicone formula also translates into better grip for users, so even bottles that would normally be slippery stay safely in their hands during use.
Thanks to Aero Rubber’s PromoStretch® silicone bands, Colleen and Dina can offer their customers an option that checks all the right boxes—reusability, durability, and a broad range of customized printing and colors. “This makes life simple,” Colleen said of the bands. “It’s one of those things you think should be readily available in the market.” Now essential oil users from all over have access to bands that make holistic living quick, convenient, and affordable.
The Outcome
With their first order, the team launched their new business EO Bandz. They were hopeful the new bands would fill a need, but sales quickly rose above their expectations. When Colleen and Dina officially began selling, they sold one-quarter of their inventory in a six-month span without even a website.
Since launching their online business in fall 2019, Colleen and Dina have kept up the good momentum, selling the bands in the US, Canada, Australia, and Europe. “Our general orders are fairly steady and we’re looking to expand,” the partners elaborated.
The feedback so far has been extremely positive, but their favorite feedback came from the parents of special needs children. The parents praised EO Bandz’s wide color scheme and the silicone design’s superior grip as ideal for their children’s use. “They want to give them a responsibility to go get their oils and use them on their own,” Colleen explained. Knowing that their bands made a difference in the lives of these families “was really nice to see.”
Colleen and Dina are extremely proud of the work they’ve done. Their goal with EO Bandz is to be the go-to label option for all essential oil users. Whatever their next venture, we at Aero Rubber look forward to remaining a part of their journey.
Create Your Own PromoStretch® Band Labels
Feeling inspired by EO Bandz’s story? Get in touch and learn what it takes to create custom PromoStretch® silicone advertising bands your customers will love.
Five Reasons to Switch to Silicone for Industrial Rubber Parts
UV & Ozone Resistance
Extreme Cold & High Heat Endurance
Range of Durometers
Color Options
Custom Variations
From pharmaceuticals to food and beverage manufacturing, silicone is a popular elastomer.
Silicone endures manufacturing environments and harsh outdoor conditions easily thanks to properties like UV and ozone resistance, as well as tolerance of a wide range of temperatures. These features, along with an extended service life, make silicone one of the most in-demand elastomers. In spite of a recent shortage, its uses are only expanding as more industries see the broad range of benefits silicone can offer. If you’re searching for a new elastomer, here are some reasons why silicone may be the best choice.
Top Benefits
UV & Ozone Protection
Silicone is ideal for the outdoors and is commonly used for parts with sun exposure. Silicone has a natural resistance to ozone and UV rays. It can endure sunlight for long periods of time without cracking or drying out, unlike some other rubber compounds. For this reason, silicone is a top choice for door and window seals.
Temperature Resistance
Aside from its benefits for use in sunlight, silicone is known for its resistance to extreme heat and cold. With an average temperature tolerance of -76°F to +450°F, silicone can withstand a greater range than most other elastomers. This makes it a great fit for a wide range of applications in your manufacturing environment. For example, FDA Grade silicone has become a staple in the food processing industry. The same materials can be used on products throughout the manufacturing process, from sub-zero freezers to 600°F cooking ovens.
Extended Durometer Range
As a “pure” polymer, silicone can be run in a “softer” range than most polymers. Silicone’s typical durometer ranges from 20 to 90 on the A Shore Scale and can be as soft as 10 durometer.
Color
It’s hard to beat silicone when it comes to color. Silicone offers the best opportunity for full color range and control. This allows you to create a custom look and to take your projects beyond the standard rubber colors of red, white, and black.
Customization
Beyond color, silicone is a versatile material that can be customized for your project. When working with liquids and gases, silicone sponge can be used for a better seal. It can also include fiberglass reinforcement, metal and x-ray detectability, chemical resistance, custom finishes, or pressure-sensitive adhesive.
Customize Your Project
When you need an elastomer that tackles extreme temperatures, has outdoor resistance, and can be customized for your project, silicone may be perfect for the job. Aero Rubber Company®, Inc.’s dedicated sales team will help you discover how many silicone uses can fits your needs. Aero Rubber Company®, Inc. is proud to offer reduced lead times during the current silicone shortage through a network of reliable compounders.
