Advantages:
- Avon Group have over 35 years experience in the manufacture of lathe cut washers and gaskets
- Achieving tight tolerance products
- Utilising a wide variety of polymers – NR, NBR, EPDM, CR, SBR, Fluoroestomers, Silicone etc
- Able to produce washers with virtually unlimited I.D. / O.D. / Cut Thickness combinations
- Cost effective alternative to ‘o’ ring or die cut sealing washers
- High material yields
- Suitable for small batch quantities and prototypes
- Flexibility to adopt design changes
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Compounds designed with you in mind:
Changing attitudes, mounting EU regulations, safety, health and environmental considerations are at the heart of decision making. Avon’s caring compounding puts us at the fore front of anticipated future regulations.
Avon’s innovative range of phthalate free products meet the EU directive on the removal of phthalates in cosmetics. Phthalates have been used in rubber formulations for many years to aid processes. In cosmetics, they were used to film or to help dissolve other ingredients. Avon has developed its pureseal range ahead of any legislative requirements. The Pureseal trademark is not just about the phthalate free materials. Pureseal is a range of products which have had traditional additives removed. They are the choice for environmentally conscious customers.
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Size matters:
Tolerances are important. The tighter the tolerances, the more consistent the product. Consistency doesn’t just help seal performance, it makes for efficient and effective valve assembly enabling higher speeds and fewer line stops. The tolerance of Avon’s gaskets exceed the tightest M1 and E1 European standards.
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Aerosol Seals:
During the punching process the gaskets are stripped directly into the shipping carton plastic bags to assure traceability of the batch number and prevent mixing of stray gaskets. With the high volume of gasket production each plastic bag or carton of gaskets is Quality Control inspected for cut quality, size, and finish. Once the bags/cartons have been approved the gaskets are then transferred either to the packaging stage or, as required by customers, go to an additional process in the form of talc or silicone.
Avon has developed a high speed punching system that manufactures gaskets without punching hairs and the typical gasket O.D. concavity caused by most punching processes. The punching tools are made from a complex high bred specialized tool steel which enables Avon to punch at very high speeds effectively and efficiently.
The Avon high speed punching process is designed to punch high quality precision cut stem gaskets at rates ranging from 17,000 to 22,000 gaskets per minute. The high volume capability is paramount in maintaining our competitive structure in the market place. The proprietary tooling technology developed by Avon is the foundation that allows for the high volume production while maintaining Cpk values unmatched by our competition.
We still use presses which allow gaskets to be manufactured up to 1400mm wide if the tooling is available and automatic presses which allow high volume ‘on the roll’ parts.
Our Maerdy rubber mixing plant is a full service site. We have complete laboratory mixing, curing, and testing capability ready to assist in any developmental of compound modification work necessary for the aerosol industry. Having this laboratory mixing kit site can dramatically reduce developmental lead times by nearly half of previous lead times.
Quality Control tests each batch cured for chemical and physical properties and each batch is inspected and approved before moving to the cutting stations. After each batch of rubber is extruded into tubes the batch is taken to the next process of curing. These tubes are autoclave cured giving each tube a fast and accurate cure. After curing the tubes are retested again for correct size and Q.C. approved before moving to the next process which is cutting.
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Avon’s Aerosol business is focused on supplying the highest quality seals and gaskets to the aerosol industry across the world:
Our Cup seals are produced through the most cost competitive process of tube extrusion. Each tube extruded through our state of the art process is continually monitored for both ID and OD sizing through our proprietary laser measurement system, with real time display as each tube is being extruded. The aerosol stem gasket tolerances are the most stringent for rubber products.
Avon uses computerized measuring equipment to measure, track Cpk, and develop predictive tooling maintenance to assure the industry Avon exceeds expected product aerosol stem gasket size specifications. The Avon die cutting process for the aerosol gaskets combines the latest metallurgy with tooling technology with our proprietary high speed punching process. This combination yields high precision cut quality with Cpk values unmatched in the aerosol industry.
Our ISO Quality Control procedure of audit inspection is accomplished through use of a computerized digital imaging measurement system accurate within .0001” (.00254mm). Each carton must pass our rigorous inspections for surface finish (record lines), warpage, and computerized size measurements before the carton is approved for shipment. Each batch of cup gaskets is tested for warpage directly after the cutting process assuring the highest quality possible. Gasket warpage or “potato chipping” is known to cause mounting cup assembly equipment downtime and/or gaskets falling out of the mount cups after assembly.
The proprietary process developed by Avon was designed to eliminate the warpage issue.
Avon has combined the rubber mixing, molding, and aerosol extrusion into the South Wales plant. This site was built as the largest most modern rubber processing facility in Europe. The facility utilizes state of the art rubber mixing lines which are completely computer controlled for ingredient weighing and the mixing and quality control testing of each batch produced.
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