FKM

Mm-hmm

... that will work on, on the, uh, Viton seals-

Mm-hmm

... on the seals that are within, where the lines will, will join together.

Some of the initial things we look at are what is the temperature of the application? pressure, chemical exposure, and then it goes to material compatibility and material selection from there.

Different types of velocimers, for example, in FFKM, FKM, EPDM, these have different properties.

They have different temperature ranges.

They have different chemical compatibility.

There's a fair amount of engineering to it.

And then there's O-ring gaskets that are rubber or Viton or whatever other thing.

And then sometimes there's just the worst piece of rubber you've ever seen.

And you're like, why? Why? What is this, like 6% petroleum? This is the driest piece of rubber, like, from new, like, what is this bullshit I'm holding in my hand? Right? We all, you get a feel for how good it is as a gasket just holding it when you take it out of the plastic.

Right.

The O-rings were made of a fluorocarbon elastomer, essentially a high-tech synthetic rubber known as FKM or VITIN.

Like all rubber, it has a glass transition temperature.

When it gets cold, it loses its elasticity.

Watch Valor.

The strap is a combination of sailcloth and FKM rubber.

It looks like it's a quick release.

This is a very unique special watch.

Yeah.

And the, the, the metal filings inside will wear out the, the Viton seal.

Mm-hmm.

Now, the Viton seal is probably the highest performance seal polymer you can get at this point.

Mm-hmm.

Um, it's not like a, like a, a rubber O-ring, uh, material.

The Viton is way high, higher performance.

Uh, but eventually a dirty gear oil will eat through that.

cool

I threw it on the dark navy FKM rubber strap.

This is definitely my favorite combo for this watch so far.

It's, it's just really good.

And we see a similar critical failure in fluidic seals and O-rings.

These components currently utilize fluoroelastomers, like FKM, because they have to withstand highly aggressive drug formulations.

If you replace FKM with non-fluorinated rubbers like EPDM or liquid silicone rubber, the MedDevice Guide report notes you introduce lipid swelling and high gas permeability.

Oh, meaning the silicone essentially acts as a sponge for certain small molecule drugs.

It just absorbs the medication directly into the seal.