Ways to add a seal to a flat face?

[julianf]

First up, I'm not talking about a gasket.

Im trying to think up an openable / closable clam shell box - think suitcase and you are most of the way there, made of folded metal.

Because of the design, the mating faces will be 3/4" of flat steel. So a 3/4 flat against another 3/4 flat when closed.

Theyre going to be painted (cosmetics) and I'd like to have a seal that's a bit fancier than some self adhesive draught excluder tape.

A bit of circular cross section "rubber" in a groove would be great, but, realistically, I doubt that's doable on the folder.

Anyone got any great ideas that I've evidently not thought of?

I'll do a sketch in the morning but I'm just on my phone now, so I hope my description makes sense.

Thank you.

 

[DAPPH]

Depending on size you can 3D print silicone sealing gaskets in all colours of soft silicone . Perhaps a " D " or double flat sided ovalid form profile ( like pillow to give you something to glue to .
Another thing could be a fancy crinolation design almost as wide as the lip and glue in several pieces with care , 45 % corners for a nice finish .

Another way might be to buy some rubber gasket making " cord " of your chosen diameter and carefully cut at 90 % then use the right super glue to connect the ends .
In my plant hire workshop days I used to use the Rigid gasket & "O" making kits to make loads of " O " rings and lid gaskets .

Can you press in a tiny slight grove or Vee on one of the lips to contain some of the seal ?
Could the seal be a bit like a windscreen wiper blade with a couple of tiny lips christmas tree style with an upper most flat edge instead of being pointed & a wider flat bottom ? .

Perhaps put a few drops of glue on one of the sitting in groves and then close the lid on it for a few days for it to set & cure into shape . Maybe use numerous bits of really sticky tape to hold the seal in place as you glue it down .

 

[colnerov]

Hi, What about something like this?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/222616194134?epid=2181709060&hash=item33d4f58c56:g:7aoAAOSw9jVbNPOS

Colin

 

[gaz1]

your flat steel wants a dip in it so it seals with a proper gasket

sort of like a door seal

 

[voipio]

What do you want the seal performance to be? Against water ingress, dust, total hermetic?

 

[julianf]

What do you want the seal performance to be? Against water ingress, dust, total hermetic?

Sorry, I should have said.

I'd say mostly as the buyers of them will think the seal makes it better, and partially against minor environmental contaminants.

So splash proof rather than 8mtrs depth.

Thank you to all so far. Ill look into all the suggestions further when I'm on the bigger screen.

 

[julianf]

The box will contain electronics. But most users have care, rather than it needing to be some sort of offshore service tool - just the standard musical stuff that I'm always up to.

 

[Agroshield]

As you are talking about a suitcase style box, you may have to consider if the mechanics of opening it will influence the seal design. With a suitcase, the end furthest from the hinge opens first, and then the sides peel off and the end nearest the hinge separates last.

You can buy square or rectangular section rubber if a curved groove does not work. Look at the seal around standard domestic front doors - a bulb of compressible stuff that goes into a groove.

Put a vertical upstand of some flexible material inboard of the flat face. In cross section, it woud need to be slightly tapered so the leading edge of the lid does not catch it, but pushes against it when fully closed. Imagine a standard circular lip seal cut into cross section and look at how it moves and then seals as the shaft is inserted.

 

[8ob]

Release agent or clingfilm on the top face, tiger seal or similar on the lower and close it, trim off excess when cured.

Bob

 

[T5 TDI]

Much as Argoshield says. I know you don't need serious under water waterproofing, but this is the fairly straight forward way they did it on my Go-pro (copy). If gives it a nice feel when closing too.

 

[bricol]

Enclosure and vehicle gasket sealing profiles from EMKA UK

Large range of extruded gasket sealing profiles for electrical/electronic enclosures and specialist vehicles – including fire and EMC resistant to UL ratings.

www.emkablog.co.uk

You may be going about this the wrong way round - find a gasket you are prepared to pay the price for, then design the closure to work with it.

Or if you stick with your flat faces, talk to

Gasket Manufacturer | Dobson Gaskets | Wide Range of Gasket Materials

Standard and custom gaskets and seal manufactured from a huge range of materials such as metal, plastic, PTFE, graphite and rubber.

dobsongasket.com

and have a self-adhesive foam/rubber/silicon seal cut specially for you in one piece.

 

[gaz1]

the rocket stoves use a gasket seel and so do the doors

one side must be u shaped and thats easily created whilst the other side can be flat faced

for round shapes its easier to insert a piece of metal inbetween before welding up

but you cant use a standared hinge if you want a good seal as the hinge's needs to variable with a cam hinge

 

[julianf]

Thanks to all for the suggestions, I've only just had time to properly look through them.

I should have spent more time in my initial post explaining -

Mechanically I could achieve all that I'd need from this with a roll of self adhesive backed draught tape - the sort of stuff people stick around door frames.

That would give quite enough of a seal for the job - needs to be no more significant than that.

But...

The problem I have is that the buyers of the stuff I sell like things to look fancy. So, whilst the draught tape would do the job for actual use, to sell them, I need something that "looks" fancier, even though its no better in actual application!

Ie looks like something that someone can't just DIY.

It's cosmetics / sales / looking fancy in a photo / looking like someone hasn't just knocked it up in a shed that I'm after. Sad but true...


In light of that, the best solution above seems to be along the lines of the custom printed silicone gaskets and / or v-ing the flat somwheee to house a seal. They seem like the neatest (best looking!) options.

Now that I've explained myself further, if anyone has any further comments, I would welcome them.

Thanks to all, as usual!

 

[stuvy]

Swager and o ring cord cut to length and glued in position

Industrial & Home Rubber Products Company - Polymax UK

O Rings to Matting, Anti Vibration Mounts to Rubber Flooring. Leading manufacturers of Rubber sheets, Boat Fender, Garage and Gym Flooring, Stable Mats

www.polymax.co.uk

Or a cork gasket like the ones used on an a series rocker cover?

What dimensions are you needing to seal?

 

[julianf]

It's a rectangle of about 20" X 15" or so

 

[stuvy]

How thick are you looking for and is it held in via gravity or fixings?

 

[gaz1]

It's a rectangle of about 20" X 15" or so

no offense here an aluminium cd/dvd case is already built to that spec

 

[julianf]

Ok, so these are for somthing else entirely but a picture speaks 100 words etc.

If you look at them, and look at the lip, we are talking a similar design, but with the lip folding down internally also. So its a 3/4" wide flat, bent over at each side.

 

[julianf]

no offense here an aluminium cd/dvd case is already built to that spec

Im trying to describe the important / relevant bit of the job. The rest of it is a bit more involved than an off the shelf cd case.

 

[stuvy]

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Something like this place in self adhesive foam 2mm just get them to laser cut it so the holes are there