Advantages of O-Rings
O-rings offer their users quite a few advantages over other seal types. These include: flexibility, superior sealing, a wider range of uses, a wider range of sizes, low manufacturing costs and reusability.
What we mean by flexibility is that, even if the two surfaces it’s joining are uneven or imperfectly matched, the O-rings can seal them. In addition, the seal they create, no matter the surface, is airtight. This is because O-rings on the shape of the cavity in which it resides, creating a vacuum.
As we mentioned, O-rings have a much wider range of use than other gasket seals. This is because they have a wider temperature range, a greater pressure tolerance (sometimes upwards of 100 bar), and because they can be made into an extremely wide range of sizes. Also, they do not generate critical torque under high pressure, meaning they put neither themselves nor their application at risk for structural damage.
Though they are superior to other gaskets, they are not more expensive than them. Instead, they are relatively cost-effective, thanks to the reasonably priced processes used to make them. On top of that, because they are usually made from rubber, metal or polymer materials, they can be used over and over again. This saves you money and puts less stress on the environment.