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Harkesh Rubber
FKM Seals

Many of the most challenging sealing applications require a heavy-duty gasket that can perform exceptionally well in the harshest of conditions. Such applications often call for gaskets made from a family of fluoroelastomers called FKM. While Viton® is the generic name for FKM, it actually is a brand name of DuPont for its synthetic rubber and fluoropolymer elastomer.


What Exactly is FKM?


The FKM seals family of elastomers consists of copolymers or terpolymers of tetrafluoroethylene (TFE), vinylidene fluoride (VDF) and hexafluoropropylene (HFP), hexafluoropropylene (HFP) and vinylidene fluoride (VDF or VF2) and perfluoromethylvinylether (PMVE). Since DuPont was the first company to really market this material, its brand name Viton® has become the most commonly associated name with FKM.


The majority of synthetic rubbers are composed of long chains of carbon and hydrogen atoms. These rubbers are prone to swelling upon exposure to oil and have a limited temperature range. What’s more, they break down over time with UV exposure (through sunlight).

When fluorine is added to synthetic rubbers, it bonds tightly to the carbon atoms and makes the compound more resistant to other compounds while providing tremendous flexibility. This changes the properties of the material and makes FKM the high-performance rubber compound that is crucial to many applications.

FKM is known for excellent resistance to heat, chemicals, concentrated acids, oils, and aggressive fuels.

Material Grades for Viton® Gaskets


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