Detectable O-rings are seals made from materials that meet strict regulations imposed on the food and pharmaceutical industries. They are a combination of rubber (such as nitrile compounds, FKM, EPDM, silicone, etc.) and metal fillers that allow detectors to easily and quickly identify them.

How do detectable O-rings work?

Over time, O-rings exposed to sterilization, contact with chemicals, high temperatures, or vibrations may degrade. As elastomeric seals wear out, there is an increased risk of contaminating products with rubber fragments. Degraded and failing sealing ring fragments can migrate and, ultimately, end up in the final product.

The base material is filled with special metal additives that are easily detectable by metal detectors. When fragments of metal are detected by specialized scanning equipment, production should be stopped, and the contaminants should be removed from the product to prevent major issues before they reach the supply chain, thus reducing costly losses and product recalls. Identified fragments as small as 2 mm can be manually detected and removed or using magnetic separators.

Utilizing detectable O-rings with metal detectors allows for swift detection of contaminated products, enabling the replacement of worn elastomers, removal of contaminants, and the resumption of production without significant expenses and costly downtime.

Detectable O-rings with FDA Certification - Key Features

Detectable O-rings for metal detectors have similar properties to standard O-rings in terms of temperature tolerance and chemical contact. They play a crucial role in delivering products safe for human consumption, reducing the risk of elastomer fragments entering the manufactured product.

FDA-certified detectable O-rings used in the food industry must be resistant to wear and corrosion, as well as fungal growth and bacterial proliferation.

Detectable O-rings - Key Features:

• Made from FDA-compliant elastomeric materials (meeting rigorous standards)
• Durable and withstand mechanical loads
• Non-toxic
• Non-staining
• Non-allergenic
• Resistant to challenging production conditions
• Chemical-resistant
• Designed for microbiological, high-temperature, and mechanical applications

Benefits of using detectable O-rings with metal detectors

• Prevent unwanted materials from contaminating food, beverages, medicines
• Easy and quick detection
• Prevent costly expenses associated with product recalls and disposal of contaminated products
• Halt the distribution of contaminated products (minimize the risk of unplanned, costly downtime and production losses)
• Significantly reduce potential production downtime
• Meet the highest quality standards (suitable for food, pharmaceutical, dairy, processing, and manufacturing facilities)
• Enhanced customer recognition

Detectable O-rings - Application

O-rings detectable by metal detectors are commonly used on production lines to prevent product contamination intended for human consumption. They are available in a wide range of materials and commonly come in blue and black colors.

Applications:

• Dairies
• Food processing facilities
• Pharmaceutical plants
• Breweries, distilleries, wineries
• Food packaging
• Meat production and packaging

Properties of silicone seals

Silicone O-rings are made of a material called silicone rubber. Due to the properties of this material, O-rings made from it are resistant to: high temperatures from -50°C to +240°C, and in the high-temperature variant even up to 300°C, hot water up to 100°C, they also exhibit hydrophobic properties (do not absorb water), hot air, ozone and oxygen, alcohols, glycols, mineral oils, as well as greases and hydraulic fluids, moreover, they insulate electricity well, which is why they are used in the electrical, medical, and food industries. Undoubtedly, the advantage of silicone O-rings is excellent flexibility, which affects their tolerance to extreme temperatures. However, their limitations include low resistance to wear and stretching, which means they are dedicated for use as static seals. It should also be noted that an O-ring made of silicone is not recommended for use with gas, as it has high gas permeability and is not resistant to chemical agents.

FDA O-rings

FDA food certification Rubber rings with a cross-section made from a blend of MVQ, VMQ are O-rings made from silicone. The blend is dedicated for contact with food products. Silicone O-rings are available in an FDA variant. This type of certification confirms the possibility of contact with both food and the human body. It is worth adding that in Poland, there is a growing awareness of the existence of such certifications enabling their use in the food industry.

Food industry

They are particularly valued in the food industry because they do not absorb odor or taste, and made from MVQ – VMQ blend have an FDA certificate. This means they are dedicated for contact with food. In our store, you can purchase silicone seals in the shape of O-rings in various colors, and they can even be transparent, which enhances the aesthetics of the seal.

High-temperature O-rings can be seals resistant to high temperatures starting from +90°C, but able to withstand temperatures up to +327°C. As a manufacturer of O-ring seals, including high-temperature ones, in one of our articles, we answer questions about where to buy such O-rings and in what temperature range to look for a product that meets our requirements. At the same time, we would like to remind you that each order can be personalized, for example, for the convenience of the customer or according to the standards adopted in their company, we can change the color to red, yellow, orange, or any other color clearly associated with the application of the O-ring intended for high temperatures. The resistance of seals to high temperatures can be divided depending on their durability. When used at elevated temperatures up to +90°C, the NBR O-ring (made of nitrile rubber) will cope, the range up to +150°C will withstand the HNBR O-ring (Hydrogenated Nitrile Butadiene Rubber), as well as the EPDM O-ring (Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer Rubber). When used at high temperatures up to +205°C, FEP O-rings (made of fluorinated rubber and silicone in a Teflon sheath) will be suitable, the level up to +210°C will withstand Viton® FKM FPM O-rings, also silicone VMQ and FVMQ O-rings will withstand temperatures up to +240°C, while the O-rings PFA are resistant to temperatures up to +260°C. If we are looking for seals for use at very high temperatures, we recommend silicone O-rings in a high-temperature version made of a VMQ mixture. They can withstand momentary temperatures up to +300°C. The highest resistance to extreme temperatures is possessed by Kalrez® O-rings. They are made of perfluoroelastomers FFKM or FFPM and can withstand up to +327°C.

Silicone Seal Ring

Silicone Seal Rings are rubber seals made of silicone. It is a rubber compound VMQ or MVQ, also referred to as an OS ring, designed for:

• contact with food items
• in places in contact with human skin
• in hot areas where temperatures reach up to 300 degrees Celsius

Most common colors of silicone o-rings:

• Brick red
• White
• Milky
• Black
• Red
• Transparent

We offer production in any color.

Silicone VMQ o-rings are most commonly found in red color. In the Polish market, it is common to refer to silicone o-rings as 'brick-red o-rings'. This is due to the shade of red resembling the color of bricks used in the construction of many buildings in the past centuries.

One of the available color variants of silicone o-rings is in a milky color, similar to white. They are most commonly used in places where a brick-red color would be too prominent. The use of milky o-rings aims to reduce the visibility of the seal. It is worth adding that they are used in places where bulls are kept, to reduce the chances of provocation.

Also available in a different color variant are black silicone O-rings. Compared to the mentioned elements, black VMQ O-rings are used for aesthetic reasons. It should be added that a downside of using black O-rings is replacing them later with other black ones, usually made from an NBR blend - without FDA certification.

Silicone O-rings are also available in transparent color. They allow for visibility in technical connections. Therefore, transparent silicone O-rings are very often used in production facility systems due to their certification for contact with food articles and drinking water.

Check out our silicone o-rings - POWER Rubber Company Store in Pruszkow at 5A Domaniewska Street is located close to Warsaw, making it easy to reach. You can purchase food-grade o-rings, which are silicone o-rings certified for contact with food products. Our store offers various diameters for VMQ o-rings and seals:

• 1
• 1.5
• 1.6
• 1.78
• 1.8
• 2
• 2.3
• 2.4
• 2.5
• 2.6
• 2.62
• 3
• 3.5
• 3.53
• 4
• 5
• 5.33
• 6.99
• 7

Silicone O-Rings Online Store! Personal pickup available!