Form-in-place and cure-in-place gasketing replace a cut rubber part with a liquid bead dispensed and cured directly on the component. Done with a UV-curable material, the cure takes seconds instead of hours, which is what makes the method practical for volume production.
FIPG and CIPG: The Difference
Form-in-place gasket (FIPG): The seal bead is dispensed onto one flange and cured before the mating part is assembled. The result is a fully cured elastomer gasket attached to one half of the joint. The parts then bolt together, compressing the cured gasket like a conventional seal.
Cure-in-place gasket (CIPG): Similar dispensing, but the emphasis is on the gasket being a permanent, adhered feature of the part, cured in place as a functional component rather than a consumable. In practice UV FIPG materials serve both roles, since they cure fully and quickly on the flange without needing the second part present.
Both approaches share the same advantages over die-cut gaskets: no pre-cut inventory, no scrap skeleton, no seam leak paths, an exact fit to any flange path, and consistent bead volume from an automated dispenser.
Why UV Cure
Room-temperature-vulcanizing silicone FIPG needs minutes to hours of skin and cure time, tying up the part and limiting line speed. A UV-curable FIPG cures on demand: dispense the bead, pass it under a lamp, and it is a handleable gasket in seconds. That collapses work-in-process and lets the gasket station keep pace with the rest of the line.
Incure Uni-Seal 6322
Incure’s Uni-Seal 6322 is a UV-curable form-in-place gasket and sealant. It serves as both a gasket and a sealant in one material, and cures very fast under low-energy LED lamps, which suits high-volume production. Its properties for enclosure sealing:
- Air-tight seal with excellent conformance to the flange surface.
- High resilience and flexibility, with good elastic memory so the gasket recovers after repeated compression cycles, outperforming many conventional cut gaskets on recovery.
- Moisture and temperature resistance for demanding service environments.
- Chemical resistance, which is why the material is widely used in electronics and automotive enclosures exposed to oils and process fluids.
- 100 percent solids with no solvent, so there is no shrinkage from solvent loss and no VOC handling.
For a recommendation on bead size and cure setup for your flange, Email Us with the enclosure drawing and production rate.
Designing the Bead
- Compression target. Size the dispensed bead so it reaches 20 to 40 percent compression at assembly. Too little and the seal is marginal; too much and the gasket fatigues early.
- Groove or hard stop. A retaining groove positions the bead and limits compression. On a flat flange, design a metal-to-metal hard stop so bolt torque cannot crush the gasket.
- Flange rigidity. Keep bolt spacing close enough that compression stays even between fasteners. A flexible flange bows outward mid-span and opens the seal.
- Path tie-in. Program the dispense path to overlap cleanly at the start and end with no thin section.
Curing
Dispense, then cure under a UV source matched to the flange size. A UV LED flood lamp handles bench-scale parts; higher volume runs on a conveyor system. Verify the delivered dose at the bead with a radiometer against the data sheet. A tall bead cross-section can shadow its own base, so expose from more than one angle if the bead is deep. Watch for an oxygen-inhibited tacky skin on the exposed surface; a higher surface dose or an inert purge resolves it.
Validation
- Compression set after aging at maximum service temperature.
- Leak test at design pressure, before and after thermal cycling.
- Thermal cycling across the service range, checking that differential expansion between the gasket and flange does not break the seal.
- Fluid immersion in the specific chemicals the enclosure contacts.
Dispensing Equipment
A repeatable FIPG bead needs metered dispensing, not a hand-held cartridge. Progressive-cavity pumps and volumetric piston dispensers both deliver a consistent volume per unit length regardless of material pressure changes. The dispense head is carried on a gantry or robot that follows the programmed flange path at constant speed and needle standoff. Material temperature is held constant, since a 5 C change in resin temperature shifts viscosity enough to alter the deposited bead width. A vision check after dispensing, before cure, catches skips and thin spots while the bead can still be corrected.
Integrating the Cure Step
The cure lamp can sit at a fixed station the part indexes to, or travel with the dispense head a fixed distance behind the needle so the bead cures as it is laid down. Traveling cure shortens cycle time and prevents a long bead from sagging before it sets, but it requires the lamp and the dispense path to stay coordinated. A fixed station is simpler and fine for parts that hold their bead shape during the transfer.
FIPG Versus a Cut Gasket
A cut gasket is simplest for low volume and very large flanges. UV FIPG wins on medium-to-high volume, complex flange paths, and any case where seam leaks or gasket handling are a problem. It also gives tighter control of gasket volume and position than hand-placing a cut part.
Summary
UV-curable FIPG and CIPG give an air-tight, resilient, chemically resistant seal that cures in seconds and fits any flange path. Design the bead for correct compression on a rigid flange, cure to a verified dose, and validate with compression-set and leak testing. Incure supports formed-in-place gasketing end to end.
Contact Our Team to specify a form-in-place gasket process.
Visit www.incurelab.com for more information.