Bellofram Elastomers offers an automated, in-house flash cutting service to fabricate silicone gaskets, pads, and other parts with clean edges and precise shapes. (Image courtesy Bellofram Elastomers)
The automated process is a precise and scalable way to produce custom silicone parts, including gaskets, ducts, and seals.
NEWELL, W.Va.—Bellofram Elastomers has added custom flash cutting to the in-house services it offers to customers, the company said in a release.
Bellofram’s in-house process is expected to create efficiencies by relieving customers of the need to do flash cutting themselves after taking delivery of Bellofram silicone sheets. It is also expected to reduce waste for Bellofram Elastomers by 25 percent, according to the release.
Flash cutting is an automated process that uses a system of reciprocating knives and computer numerical control (CNC) to fabricate parts, such as silicone gaskets and silicone pads, with clean edges and precise shapes. It is said to be prized for its ability to provide complex shapes more efficiently than die-cutting, without the time and expense of creating a die. Tolerances are comparable to the waterjet cutting process, Bellofram said in the release.
“In the past, customers would buy sheets and outsource the cuts,” said Matt Wingertsahn, general manager at Bellofram Elastomers, in a statement. “Now, we can be a true one-source resource. We can now produce the silicone sheet and cut it for the final application.”
The process involves inputting the desired shape using a computer-aided design interface. Bellofram can also offer flash cutting consulting services and assist with the shape’s file creation.
Bellofram Elastomers prides itself on its ability to accommodate short runs and large orders. In that spirit, like the company’s other services, Bellofram flash cutting is scalable. “We’re able to go one at a time or, for repeat cuts, produce runs in the thousands of pieces,” said Wingertsahn.
Wingertsahn emphasized that the company will only be flash cutting its own product.
“We are not getting into the converting business and won’t be in competition with our converting customers. We are offering this as a service to customers who usually execute their own flash cutting. Now they have the option of having it done here and shipped already cut to shape.”
Bellofram Elastomers’ shaped silicone products are used in a variety of applications on land, sea, and air, including Navy buoy systems, jet fuel bladders, engine gaskets, and vent ducts. Other uses include seals in food processing machinery and industrial ovens, and medical devices and pharmaceutical applications.
Bellofram Elastomers is part of The Marsh Bellofram Group of Companies, an AS9100D and ISO9001:2015 certified, global manufacturing collective. The group’s portfolio spans a wide array of high-performance OEM, industrial, and process control instrumentation, from timers and counters to digital controllers, RTDs, thermocouples, valves, and sensors, as well as industrial diaphragms, specialty silicones, and more.