Material Comparison Guide
Welcome to our Elastomeric Material Comparison Guide. Choosing the right elastomeric material for your application is crucial for performance, durability, and cost-efficiency. This guide provides an in-depth comparison of various elastomeric materials, helping you make an informed decision.
Below is a general guideline of which base polymer to consider for your O-ring, gasket, & custom molded part application. With decades of experience in FFKM applications, the Canyon Components Engineering Team is unmatched throughout the industry.
Feel free to get in touch if you have any questions or are looking for a quote.
| Variable | Buna / nitrile | Fluorcarbon (Viton®) | CanRez FFKM | Silicone | EPDM | Neoprene | HNBR | Butyl | Urethane | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Relative Cost | $ | $$-$$$$ | $$$$$ | $$-$$$ | $$ | $ | $$ | $$ | $-$$$ | |
| Durometer Range available | 40-95 | 50-95 | 60-95 | 30 TO 90 | 40-90 | 40-90 | 70-95 | 60-90 | 50-95 | |
| Permeability Coef-Nitrogen 10~cm~sec~atm~ | 0.18 | 0.2 | 200 | 6.4 | 0.89 | 0.25 | 0.95 / 16 | |||
| Electrical Resistivity (Polymer) | D-C | B | A | A | A | C | D-C | A | BG | |
| Creep | B | B | B | B-A | C-B | B | B | C | C-A | |
| Impact Strength | C | B | B | D-C | C-B | B | A | B | B-A | |
| Abrasion Resistance | A | B | C | A-B | C-B | A | A | C | A | |
| Tear Resistance | B | B | C | A-B | C-B | B | A | B | A | |
| Cut Growth | B | B | C | C-B | C | B | A | A | A | |
| Flame resistance | D | A | C | A | D | B-A | A | D | D | |
| Low Temp - Stiffening - °F | +30 TO -20 | +10 TO -60 | 0 TO -40 | -60 TO -180 | -20 TO -50 | +10 TO -50 | -10 TO -40 | -10 TO -30 | ||
| Low Temp - Brittle Point - °F | -40 | -65 | Consult | -90 TO -180 | -90 | -85 | -80 | |||
| Weather-Sunlight Aging | D | A | A | A | A | B | C | A | A | |
| Oxidation | B | A | A | A | A | A | B | A | B | |
| Ozone Cracking | C | A | A | A | A | A | B | A | A | |
| Radiation | B | C-B | B | C-B | B-A | B | B | B | B | |
| Water | A | A | A | A | A | B | A | A | C-B | |
| Steam | C-B | A-B | A-B | B-C | A | B | B | B-A | D | |
| Alkali Dilute / Concentrated | B/B | A | A/A | A/A | A/A | A/A | A/B | A/A | C/D | |
| Acid Dilute / Concentrated | B/B | B/C | A/A | B/C | A/A | A/A | A/B | A/A | C/D | |
| Ketones, Oxygenated Solvents | D | NR | A | B-C | B-A | C | NR | A | D | |
| Chlorinated Hydrocarbons Degreasers | C-B | A | B | NR | NR | D | C | NR | C-B | |
| Aliphatic Hydrocarbons, Kerosene, etc. | A | A | B | D-C | NR | C | A | NR | B | |
| Aromatic Hydrocarbons, Benzol, Toluol, etc. | B-A | A | B | NR | NR | B | C | NR | C | |
| LP Gases, Fuel Oils | A | A | B | C | NR | B | A | NR | C-B | |
| Alcohols | C-B | C-A | A | C-B | B-A | A | A | B-A | B | |
| Brake Fluid, Non-Petroleum Base | NR | C | B | A | B-A | C | B | NR | ||
| Synthetic Lubricants - Diester | B-A | A | A | NR | NR | D | A | NR | D | |
| Animal and Vegetable Oils | B | A | A | A | B | B | B-A | A | ||
| Petroleum Base | B-A | A | A | NR | NR | D-C | A | NR | B | |
| Water Glycol | C | A | A | A | A | B | B-A | C-B | ||
| Silicate Ester | B | A | A | NR | B-A | B | B-A | NR | ||
| Phosphate Ester | D | B-A | A | B | A(300°+) | C | NR | A (250° Max) | NR | |
| Hight Aniline (190°+) | B | A | A | C | NR | B | NR | A | ||
| Low Aniline Point | A | A | A | B | NR | A | NR | B | ||
| Ammonia | B | NR | A | A | B | A | B | B | D | |
| Refrigerants | R-11, 12, 13 | R-11,12,13 | Ask | NR | R-12,13,22 | R-11 ,12,13,21,22 | R-12, 13, 22 | R-12 |
Materials Available
This table shows many of our standard materials and links out to our O-ring store. Get in touch with us if you need a custom gasket, custom molded part, or non-standard geometry!
Canrez® FFKM Perfluoroelastomer
Extreme temperatures & chemicals require extreme solutions! Canrez® FFKM materials offer extreme reliability where you need it most! Thousands of sizes in stock now!
CanGuard™ RFI & EMI Shielding Materials
CanGuard™ materials have been developed to offer superior sealing solutions with enhanced electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding and radio frequency interference (RFI) shielding.
Kalrez® FFKM Perfluoroelastomer
Canyon Components offers Kalrez® Perfluoroelastomer (FFKM) O-rings, gaskets, & custom molded parts at competitive prices and with great lead-times.
Parker® O-rings, Parofluor parts, parker FKM Viton
Canyon Components offers Parker Hannifin® O-rings, Gaskets, Perfluoroelastomer (FFKM) parts, & custom molded parts at competitive prices and with great lead-times.
FKM (Viton®, Fluorocarbon)
FKM compounds, O-rings, gaskets, & custom molded parts exhibit excellent mechanical attributes as well as excellent resistance to high temperatures, mineral oil, ozone, fuels, hydraulic fluids, and many other solvents and chemicals.
Aflas® (TFE/P)
TFE/P (Aflas) compounds, O-rings, gaskets, & custom molded parts gives high resistance to steam, hot water, atmospheric wear, and many chemicals. TFE/P compounds provide superior performance in water, steam and virtually all caustic chemicals.
Fluorosilicone (FVMQ)
The mechanical and physical properties of Fluorosilicone O-rings, gaskets, & custom molded parts are very similar to silicone. Fluorosilicone O-rings, gaskets, & custom molded parts offer improved flexibility and strength, better resistance to fuels and mineral oil, but reduced hot air resistance.
Silicone (VMQ, PVMQ)
Silicone seals, O-rings, gaskets, & custom molded parts are excellent for extreme temperatures in static applications. Canyon Components carries a range of silicone materials, and we are happy to custom tailor a seal to meet your application requirements!
EPDM (Ethylene Propylene)
EPDM materials, O-rings, gaskets, & custom molded parts can operate over a wide temperature range, and are compatible with glycol fluids that cause problems for most typical elastomeric seals.
NBR (Nitrile, Buna-N)
Nitrile O-rings, gaskets, & custom molded parts are very oil-resistant, have strong mechanical properties, are resistant to wear, and are relatively inexpensive. These properties make Nitrile the most commonly used general purpose O-ring, gasket, & custom molded part material.
HNBR (Hydrogenated Nitrile)
Hydrogenated Nitrile O-rings, gaskets, & custom molded parts offer higher strength and reduced degradation at high temperatures compared to conventional Nitrile materials. These properties make HNBR materials popular in the oil and gas industry, as well as many applications in the chemical industry.
XNBR (Carboxylated Nitrile)
XNBR O-rings, gaskets, & custom molded parts are similar to Nitrile, but the backbone has been chemically modified with a Carboxylic Acid group. The resulting elastomer is a Nitrile rubber with outstanding abrasion and chemical resistance, superior to that of traditional Nitrile.
Neoprene (CR)
Chloroprene was the first synthetic rubber, and was developed commercially under the name Neoprene®. Chloroprene rubbers, O-rings, gaskets, & custom molded parts contain Chlorine in the polymer to reduce the reactivity to many oxidizing agents, as well as to oil and flame.
Polyurethane (PU, AU)
Polyurethane O-rings, gaskets, & custom molded parts generally have two or three times greater tensile strength and wear resistance than Nitrile and comparable polymers. Polyurethane also provides excellent permeation resistance when compared to most rubbers.
PTFE Encapsulated
FEP and PFA encapsulated O-rings consist of an elastomeric core and a seamlessly closed casing of modified PTFE. The elastomer core of encapsulated O-rings is typically made of FKM (Viton) or VMQ (silicone) and guarantees a uniform pre-tensioning at the sealing point.
PTFE O-Rings
The harshest environments require specialized solutions. Often times, a Canyon Components PTFE O-rings are used in harsh chemical environments. Polytetrafluoroethylene, commonly known as PTFE or Teflon®, is a high-performance fluoropolymer known for its exceptional chemical resistance, low friction, and non-stick properties.
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