Thornhill's comprehensive production facilities boast one of the largest compression presses in the UK, featuring a platen size of 2500mm by 1500mm and a working pressure of up to 800 tonnes. The correct choice of gasket characteristics is crucial to the effective operation of the Plate Heat Exchanger. Since the majority of Plate Heat Exchanger gaskets are manufactured from perishable rubber polymers, they require replacing as the gasket loses the ability to seal through hardening and deterioration. This gives Thornhill the flexibility to produce gaskets of any size. We operate 13 presses producing gaskets for any type, make and model of plate heat exchanger, resulting in products manufactured to OEM specification with response times to be envied. Our dedicated CAD/CAM machining centre is capable of producing gasket moulds from either our in house database of plate dimensions, or in the unlikely event that details are not recorded, by digitising plates supplied. Thornhill, through a combination of experience and independent research has established six critical factors that help determine the correct compound for each application. These 'vital properties' are: Incompressibility - The rubber compounds behaves as if it were a liquid that can change shape but cannot flow, so that after being squeezed it will return to its original vulcanised shape. Strength - It is strong enough to withstand the forces normally incurred by squeezing into position and being acted upon by pressurised liquid. Softness - This is adjusted by compounding so that the rubber is strong enough for the application but still soft enough to conform closely to the metal surfaces and provides a seal without undue stresses being applied Resistance to Fluid - The high molecular weight, cross linked polymer matrix is resistant to penetration by any fluid of a dissimilar chemical nature to itself. Resistance to Temperature - One disadvantage of the desired 'rubberness' of the polymer material is the fact that all polymers will only behave as a rubber over a relatively short range of temperature. Thus accurate selection of the compound according to the required temperature range is crucial. Longevity - Many modern synthetic polymers have a built in superiority in terms of useful lifetime over older materials, and modern additives can further enhance this property. It is an area that the correct compound selection is of vital importance: all rubber based compounds suffer from stress relaxation, i.e the initial sealing force slowly declines during use due to changes in the internal chemistry of the compound, and when the sealing force declines to below a value depending on the application, leaks will ensue. Thornhill's high quality modern compounds provide excellent all-round serviceability which meet or exceed the performance specifications demanded by the industries we serve. Our compounds include: Nitrile; EPDM; Butyl; Viton (and other Fluoro Elastomers); Hypalon and Silicon.   View information about the Re-Conditioning of Plates.. Thornhill Heat Exchangers offer a wide range of high quality Plate Heat Exchangers.. Thornhill Heat Exchangers offer a dedicated technical support team standing by to answer any initial sales enquiries you may have...