Inside Look at Wolar
Wolar has an in-house turnkey manufacturing operation that includes a gasket plating line, heat treating furnace, electric mold presses and numerous CNC machining equipment to assure our customers the most expedited deliveries for stock and non stock ring type joint gaskets.
CMM reports and PMI reports can be readily produced on site to verify dimensional and material specifications.
Furnace
RTJ gaskets produced from carbon steel materials can go through a normalizing process to reduce hardness to API specifications as required. This also ensures hardness is evenly distributed among the gasket eliminating hard spots that could initiate sealing failure or flange damage.
Having our own furnace assures annealing and normalizing processes along with proper time requirements are carried out as specified. An annual furnace calibration is performed by an outside agency to verify even heat containment and temperatures are distributed and maintained by the equipment as reported.
Wolar’s ability to perform these functions in house assist in our commitment to quality and service to our customer base.
Manufacturing
Wolar manufactures a complete line of RTJ gaskets in Houston, TX occupying 50,000 square feet and looking to expand.
We are one of the few US manufactures that can supply gaskets at a global level. CNC lathes provide the repetitive quality and continuous production rates to keep us competitive. With over 12 CNC lathes dedicated to solely producing RTJ’s, we are able to produce either one gasket or hundreds to meet customer demand.
With concerns of the oil and gas crisis over the world both onshore and offshore, we know that you require quality materials manufactured to API and or OEM specifications, and that is exactly what we will deliver. Wolar will not cut corners on quality and put everyone's hard work at risk for the sake of a sale. Locally or across the world you will always receive from Wolar what you demand from the rest.
Plating Line
Wolar is the only domestic manufacturer that has the ability to manufacture a carbon steel gasket and Zinc plate it in-house. Our commitment to supplying a quality product does not rely on subcontractors.
Our plating line is designed specifically to plate RTJ's and nothing else. The plating is Zinc and the thickness tolerances are kept to API specifications using latest electronic thickness coating equipment that is used in the plating industry, as standard issue for measuring thickness.
Our plating facility is continually audited by all government agencies at City, State and Federal levels, which have always been in compliance.
Rubber Coating
Wolar Rubber Covered gaskets start with a precision machined low carbon steel gasket and then rubber molded in an electrically induced 300 ton compression press in our own manufacturing plant. Nitrile rubber, having a 70 Durometer, is molded on a finished gasket that has been carefully prepared to accept complete adhesion of the rubber. By performing all functions in-house, we are assured our gaskets are machined and molded properly.
These gaskets are used in hydrostatic testing of equipment where testing pressures are equal to or beyond the equipments operating range.
With proper care, these gaskets can be reused numerous times. They also help to minimize and prevent additional damage to a flange groove.
We recommend storing these gaskets away from excessive heat and ultraviolet light. Shelf life is contingent on storage conditions but gaskets should remain useable for a minimum of 2 years.
Coordinate Measuring Machine (CMM)
To ensure API and OEM dimensional specifications are met, a Nikon CMM is used to perform first article inspections on intricately designed gaskets to verify the accuracy of the setup. Inspection Data Reports can be generated and supplied to customers requiring inspection reports.
Water-Jet
Wolar’s ability to water-jet raw material from plate into rough gasket blanks has greatly improved our turn around time from PO to Invoice. Water jetting introduces no material stresses or edge hardening problems as a plasma or gas torch will. This allows us to immediately take the rough blank from the water-jet to the CNC machine for final machining.
