Rubber and metal ventilation elements
We manufacture ventilation elements according to your drawings and specifications, with complete design freedom from geometry and material selection to connection type, from batch size 1 to large-scale production.
- Customised production
- Batch sizes 1 to 1 million units.
- Express production from 2 weeks
- 100% Reliability & proactivity
Ventilation elements for the industry
Valve elements are components that open, close, or regulate the flow of medium in a valve. They are the functional core of every valve and influence the seal, switching behaviour, and service life of the entire valve. Valve elements are used in almost all areas where liquid or gaseous media flow – from pneumatics and process engineering to Medicine- and Food technology.
Ventilation elements are mostly used as Rubber-metal connection manufactured and combine the mechanical stability of the metal carrier with the sealing, elastic properties of the elastomer. The metallic valve body ensures secure force transmission and consistently stable functional geometries, while the vulcanised the rubber area on the valve disc takes on the actual sealing function on the valve seat.
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Structure & function a valve element
As a valve element supplier, we manufacture every component individually to your specifications. As we have complete freedom in defining the geometry, material, and connection design, the valve element can be precisely tailored to the switching characteristics, medium, and installation space of your application. This results in specific advantages: controlled opening and closing behaviour, consistent sealing forces, low wear on the valve seat, and a reproducible service life, even with high load cycles.
Valve housing / Valve body The valve housing – also known as the valve body – is the supporting structure of the valve element and absorbs the mechanical forces from the connection geometry as well as the reaction forces from the flowing medium. At the same time, the valve housing is the outer interface to the surrounding structure and carries the valve seat. The choice of material and wall thickness of the valve body influence the operating conditions.impressions, what corrosion stress and what thermal load the valve can withstand and how evenly the sealing force is transmitted to the valve seat.
Valve seat
The valve seat is the opposing surface to the valve disc and influences the achievable seal. Seat angle, surface finish and hardness determine how the elastomer on the valve disc deforms upon contact and how reproducible the leakage rate remains over the service life.
Valve disc
The valve disc carries the rubber sealing surface and closes against the valve seat. The closing characteristic can be adapted to your requirements by means of the valve disc geometry, the hardness of the elastomer and the sealing profile. A flat sealing surface offers a high sealing reserve, while a conical or lip-shaped geometry also closes reliably with low contact pressures. The material pairing on the valve disc is therefore the central lever for function and service life.
Valve tappet
The tappet transmits the switching movement from the actuator to the valve disc and guides it axially in the direction of the valve seat. The cross-section and length of the tappet influence buckling stiffness, stroke accuracy, and vibration behaviour under dynamic load. Play and friction are defined via mating and guide surfaces on the tappet. In vulcanised versions, the tappet can additionally have sealing areas that go beyond the pure drive function.
Vulcanised sealing face
A vulcanised-in rubber sealing surface is mechanically more resilient than bonded or loose seals, cannot slip, and remains stable in position even after many switching cycles. The profile, height, and hardness profile of the sealing surface are adjusted so that the required surface pressure is achieved at the valve seat without the rubber seal being over-pressed or flattening.
Spring characteristic & switching behaviour
The characteristic curve of the valve element can be made progressive or linear by considering the geometry of the rubber seal, any integrated cavities, and the contact surface on the valve seat. This allows the opening and closing behaviour to be adapted to the response pressure, switching time, and noise characteristics, which is particularly relevant when designing non-return and pressure relief valves.
Materials for custom-made valve elements
Our valve components are manufactured precisely to your specifications. As a manufacturer of valve components, we use a specific rubber compound tailored to your application. Consequently, the raw material is 100 % tailored to your application: hardness ranging from 20–95 Shore A, peroxide- or sulphur-cured, electrically conductive or insulating, and certified for fire safety, FDA, AED or drinking water use.
Contact us for a free consultation and selection of the appropriate material for your valve element.
Industries & Applications for valve elements
Customised valve elements are used wherever fluid flows need to be separated, released, or controlled – often under stringent requirements for switching cycles, sealing, and media resistance. Especially in pneumatics and process engineering, mechanical and plant engineering, and medical technology, individually designed valve elements are in demand to minimise leakage rates, extend service life, and safely integrate the component into existing constructions.
Ventilation elements Mechanical Engineering
Valve elements perform tasks in hydraulic blocks, cooling circuits, and lubrication systems. They must accommodate fluctuating pressures, temperature changes, and high switching cycles. Through the targeted design of the valve body, valve seat, and valve disc, specified response pressures and reproducible switching times can be achieved, which increases the availability of the overall system.
Ventilation elements Medical Technology
In medical technology, valve elements are used in ventilators, dispensing systems and diagnostic assemblies. Biocompatibility, low-particle materials and reproducible actuating forces are particularly in demand. Silicone valve elements with a precisely manufactured valve seat and a finely tuned valve disc enable low leakage rates and short response times, even with very small flow rates.
Ventilation elements Pneumatics and Process Engineering
In pneumatic and process engineering systems, valve elements control compressed air, inert gases, or liquid media and are among the most frequently switched components in fluid technology. In pneumatics, valve elements are used in solenoid valves, directional control valves, pressure control valves, and quick exhaust valves – wherever compressed air flows need to be released, blocked, or distributed at high cycle rates, for instance in cylinder controls, gripping and clamping systems, conveyor systems, or packaging machines.
Rubber and metal ventilation elements – 93 realised geometries!
- Toolmaking is our core competency
- 100% in-house expertise
- Fast response times for tooling modifications
Insights in ventilation element projects
of our customers.
Custom valve element with extended service life at the valve seat
The challenge
In a control valve in a process engineering project, the valve cone that had been used previously showed wear and leakage at the valve seat after only a few months.
Implementation
Together with our customer, we redesigned the valve element. We adapted the geometry of the valve disc, modified the seat angle on the valve seat, and selected an HNBR compound with higher wear resistance. The tappet and the connection on the valve body could remain unchanged, so no modifications to the actuator were necessary.
Solution
The revised valve element achieves a significantly higher switching capacity while maintaining the same level of sealing. Maintenance intervals have been extended, and unplanned downtimes have been largely eliminated. This resulted in a technically and economically viable solution without affecting the rest of the plant architecture.
Do you have questions about valve elements?
We have answers!
How is adhesion between rubber and metal ensured on the valve housing?
To achieve optimal adhesion to the valve body, we mechanically pre-treat the metallic carrier of the valve housing, degrease the surface, and apply an adhesion promoter system. During vulcanisation, the reactive groups react with both the metal and the rubber. This creates a materially bonded interface that is mechanically more resilient than the rubber itself.
What tolerances are possible on the valve seat?
At the valve seat, depending on the component size and tooling concept, we achieve tolerances in the region of a few hundredths of a millimetre. Less critical here is the purely geometric tolerance than the interplay of the seating surface and the sealing geometry on the valve disc: a slightly more elastic sealing surface compensates for larger seating deviations without affecting the seal of the valve element.
How do geometry and Shore hardness affect the sealing behaviour at the valve disc?
A lower Shore hardness on the valve disc increases adaptability to the valve seat, but can lead to increased wear under high dynamic loads. Higher hardness levels reduce the sealing margin, but offer better dimensional stability and service life. Geometrically, very different closing characteristics can be set using lip, flat, or cone contours. The optimal design of the valve element results from the combination of both parameters.
From what quantities does your own tool become worthwhile?
A bespoke tool for your valve assembly is typically worthwhile when the tooling costs are amortised over the production volume, while also leveraging technical advantages. In practice, this usually starts in the region of approximately 500 pieces per year, depending on geometry, component size, and complexity.
What are the maximum and minimum sizes that valve elements can be manufactured to?
We manufacture valve elements ranging from a few millimetres in diameter – for example, for microvalves in diagnostic and dosing assemblies – to components with diameters of over 200 mm for industrial and process applications. What is decisive is less a rigid maximum size than the tool and machine capacity, as well as the ratio of wall thickness to component surface area. Very small valve discs with fine sealing contours on the valve seat can also be produced reproducibly, provided the tool concept and material selection are precisely coordinated.
How is the seat angle on the valve seat designed for a specific medium?
The angle of the seat in relation to the valve seat is selected depending on the medium, pressure level, and desired switching characteristic. Shallow seat angles (e.g., 30°) create a larger sealing surface and higher sealing reserve – beneficial for low-viscosity media such as compressed air or gases. Steeper angles (45°–60°) increase the surface pressure on the valve disc with the same closing force and are advantageous for higher pressures or media containing particles. Additionally, the seat angle and surface finish influence wear: the more precisely the valve seat and valve disc are matched, the more reproducible the seal remains over the lifespan of the valve element.
How long does it take for the development of a valve element to reach series production?
The development time is typically 8 weeks – depending on complexity, component geometry, and tuning effort. With iterative design involving prototype phases and specific testing requirements, the process is extended accordingly. If a valve element is urgently needed, we offer express production with sample parts in up to 2 weeks and series production starting in 4 weeks. Through our in-house toolmaking, optimised processes, and digitalisation, we shorten development time when we are involved early on as a strategic partner.
