What is EPDM?
EPDM is a terpolymer with few unsaturated bonds in the side groups. Due to the saturated main chain, EPDM has good resistance to heat, ozone and aging as well as high elasticity, good behavior at low temperatures and good electrical insulating properties.

Temperature resistance:
(-30°C to +150°C)*

EPDM is resistant to:
Glycol-based brake fluids up to 125°C, silicone oils and greases, many polar solvents (ketones, esters, alcohols), detergents, caustic soda and potassium hydroxide solutions, hot water and hot steam up to 125°C*, HFC and mineral oil-free HFD-R hydraulic fluids.

EPDM is not resistant to:
Mineral oil products (oils, greases and fuels), aliphatic, aromatic and chlorinated hydrocarbons.

* Specifications refer only to general material data and are for guidance only. Temperatures vary greatly due to their different formulations and ingredients.

Temperature resistance: (-35°C to +100°C)*
Neoprene is a synthetic rubber based on butadiene acrylonitrile. It combines almost all the desirable properties of a rubber: medium oil resistance (better than natural rubber, but worse than nitrile rubber), good ozone and weather resistance, very good aging resistance (better than natural rubber, but worse than silicone and FKM), good mechanical properties and elasticity (but less good than natural rubber – less permanent deformation up to 70°C, but greater than that of nitrile rubber at higher temperatures).

Neoprene can be used in a temperature range from –35 to +100 °C. Chloroprene (neoprene) is produced in more than ten variants, which is why it has such varying properties. Neoprene rubber is used wherever items are exposed to weathering or where they come into sporadic contact with oil (cover sheets of hoses, inner rubber linings of compressed air hoses).

* Specifications refer only to general material data and are for guidance only. Temperatures vary greatly due to their different formulations and ingredients.

Temperature resistance: (-50°C to +70°C)*

Natural rubber is an all-purpose rubber which can be found in almost all areas of application. NR has very high tensile strength, elasticity, flexibility at low temperatures, and excellent dynamic properties. NR is moderately resistant to oil, heat, weathering, and ozone.

* Specifications refer only to general material data and are for guidance only. Temperatures vary greatly due to their different formulations and ingredients.

Temperature resistance: (-25°C to +100°C)*

NBR has very good resistance to mineral oils and greases, as well as HFA, HFB, and HFC hydraulic fluids, vegetable and animal oils and greases. NBR materials also have good resistance to aliphatic hydrocarbons (propane, butane, gasoline, and diesel fuel) as well as silicone oils and greases. Additionally, NBR is characterized by a low compression set.

NBR is not resistant to polar solvents, glycol-based brake fluid, superheated water vapor, aromatic hydrocarbons, chlorinated hydrocarbons, HFD pressure fluids, UV light, and ozone.

* Specifications refer only to general material data and are for guidance only. Temperatures vary greatly due to their different formulations and ingredients.

Temperature resistance: (-30°C to +140°C)*

In short, HNBR is the further development of NBR. HNBR, or highly saturated nitrile rubber, is the name for a class of materials obtained by selective hydrogenation (addition of hydrogen using a catalyst) of the butadiene groups of NBR. Hydrogenation provides good resistance to ozone and weathering. Where NBR reaches its limits, the higher-quality material HNBR is often used.

* Specifications refer only to general material data and are for guidance only. Temperatures vary greatly due to their different formulations and ingredients.

Temperature resistance: (-25°C bis + 220°C)*

Fluororubber, also known by the name Viton®. This material is characterized by very high resistance to heat, weathering, aging, and ozone. Additionally, fluororubber has very good chemical resistance and low gas permeability. Fluororubber is sensitive to the effects of hot water, steam, and amines, among other things.

FKM was developed in the 1950s in the USA and is now an important sealing material. Fluororubbers are mixed polymers of highly fluorinated hydrocarbons. Currently, CO-, TER-, or TETRA-polymer types are available with different structures and fluorine content, providing varying media resistance and cold flexibility.

* Specifications refer only to general material data and are for guidance only. Temperatures vary greatly due to different formulations and ingredients.

Temperature resistance: (-20°C bis 325°C)*

Perfluoro rubber (abbreviation FFKM or FFPM) or perfluoroelastomer is a fully fluorinated elastomer. Chemically, it is very similar to polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). It is primarily used where very high thermal and/or chemical resistance is required.

FFKM can be used between −20°C and +325°C. Special compounds (mixtures) can be used at temperatures above +325°C or down to −30°C under certain conditions. The specification of the low temperature particularly refers to static applications.

* Specifications refer only to general material data and are for guidance only. Temperatures vary greatly due to different formulations and ingredients.

Temperature resistance: (-60°C bis +200°C)*

This material is characterized by very high resistance to heat, weathering, aging, and ozone. Additionally, silicone has good electrical insulation properties, remaining consistent across a temperature range of -60 to +200°C*.

Many silicone products are physiologically safe, as well as odorless and tasteless. Therefore, silicone is particularly suitable for use with food, medical, or pharmaceutical goods, ensuring compliance with the relevant regulations of BfR and FDA for food conformity, as well as the requirements of WRAS, KTW, and ACS for drinking water contact, and the applicable standards of ISO 10993, USP Class VI, and E.P. 3.1.9. for the medical/pharmaceutical sector.

Steam sterilizations at temperatures between 120°C and 140°C are possible multiple times with many silicone qualities. Silicone is not resistant to fuels, silicone oils and greases, acids, and alkalis.

* Specifications refer only to general material data and are for guidance only. Temperatures vary greatly due to different formulations and ingredients.

The table provides a rough classification according to various criteria. More detailed information is provided in the resistance list. The table data are guidelines.

Download: Beständigkeitsübersicht.pdf (german)