BLAZER™ comparison - Part 1.

O-rings are widely used in a variety of industries. Their required resistance covers anything from chemical to rapid gas decompression and more. As such, there are countless types of O-rings available.

Using patented cross-linking technology, NICHIAS has developed an O-ring series called BLAZER™ for highly specific and high performing applications. These are widely used in Asia but now made available for customers in Europe with highly demanding applications.

These applications can be grouped into 3 main categories – Chemical and/or Plasma; Heat and/or Steam; Rapid Gas Decompression.

Here our technical team describes how the first group differs from the other products on the market.

Chemical and/or Plasma resistance

O-rings in this category are exposed to aggressive environments involving acids, nucleophilic agents, and heated gases – an environment which will deform the sealing solution and compromise the sealing of the system if the wrong material is used.

Deformation can happen as well as swelling; loss of weight that weakens the material; dissolution due to contact with chemicals that deteriorates the shape of the O-ring; cracks that allow the chemicals to permeate the body of the material and deteriorate it within; and more.

All the above ultimately lead to the failure of the O-ring as a sealing solution.

The most common products on the market are Kalrez™ or Chemraz™ - each with their own features and capabilities. BLAZER™ can match those capabilities and in certain conditions outperform.

For plasma resistance, BLAZER™ matches the weight reduction ratios of Kalrez™, meaning it does not weaken on exposure and maintains its sealing performance.

However, when resistance to cracking is considered when the O-ring is placed under stress, at 150 minutes, BLAZER™ remained unchanged while other products started showing deterioration.

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As a result of these properties, BLAZER™ O-rings are used extensively in the semiconductor industry. However, there is one additional requirement to consider – metal elution. If an O-ring releases metals into the media that it encounters, then unwanted contamination of the final product can result in an unwelcome increase in quality rejects.

It is also here that BLAZER™ outperforms other materials on the market – as the metal elution of BLAZER™, even that of Magnesium and Barium, is extremely low providing customers with the confidence in-use that they demand vs minimising reject rates and maintenance downtimes.

BLAZER™ can also deliver lower cost thanks to NICHIAS compounding technology – resulting in customers getting an equivalent, if not better product than competitors offer today, for lower cost. But don’t just take our word for it - you can request your sample today to test for yourself.

Comparison chart based on internal test data:

	BLAZER™	Kalrez™	Chemraz™
Chemical resistance*	✓	✓	✓
Plasma resistance	✓	✓	✓
Metal elution	✓	✘	✘
Dissolution	✓	✓	✓
Weight loss	✓	✓	✓
Crack resistance	✓	✘	✘