Three Reasons to Make SSP Your Strategic Supplier

Specialty Silicone Products (SSP) provides ready-to-convert materials like EMI/RFI shielding elastomers and fabricated products like EMI gaskets and conductive O-Rings. We also offer material selection and design assistance, converting and fabricating advice, and technical education and training. By combing these value-added services with our materials and products, you can make SSP your strategic supplier and realize technical and business benefits.

Material Selection and Design Assistance

SSP is ready to help converters, fabricators, and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) who need help with materials selection but don’t know where to begin. For example, many engineers are discovering that they need to replace standard gaskets and O-rings with products made from shielding silicones to account for higher-than-expected RF emissions. SSP can recommend the right elastomers and even offers design recommendations for EMI seals.

Part of the value that SSP provides comes from our ability to supply customers with low minimum order quantities (MOQs) of spec-grade materials that have been independently tested. We also offer alternatives to Parker Hannifin CHO-SEAL® materials, including EMI/RFI silicones that meet the MIL-DTL-83528 specification. In addition, SSP offers alternatives to gasket materials from W.L. Gore that combine EMI shielding with UL 94-V0 flame resistance.

Converting and Fabricating Advice

Because SSP is a both a materials manufacturer and a gasket fabricator, we can share our experience with converting, flash cutting, and die cutting the EMI elastomers that we make. Compared to standard silicones, EMI silicones can be more challenging to cut because they include metal, metallic, or bimetallic particles. These particles are abrasive and can contribute to wear on cutting tools; however, EMI silicones still support clean, straight cuts along with holes and contours.    

SSP’s support for material converters and gasket cutters extends to molders. Along with rolls, sheets, and extrusions, we supply ready-to-mold compounds that have been independently tested and are available in low MOQs.  Because SSP compression molds EMI gaskets and O-rings at our Made in USA manufacturing facility, the advice we can offer reflects our own hands-on experience. Our ability to bond EMI O-rings also means we work with and understand jigs and fixtures. 

Technical Education and Training

As your strategic supplier, SSP can also provide you with technical education and training. Long before Zoom calls became part of business life, we recorded an EMI/RFI Gasketing webinar that’s still available on YouTube. SSP can also provide your company with customized training. For example, gasket fabricators who purchase our EMI/RFI silicones can learn how these elastomers meet the various requirements of the lettered sections of MIL-DTL-83528. 

Finally, SSP can help your company to identify and pursue new business opportunities. Some of what we’ve learned comes from participating in events like MD&M West,  the Satellite Show, and the Gasketing/Converting Expo. SSP also analyzes market opportunities for EMI/RFI shielding in high-growth industries such as electric vehicles (EVs), automation and robotics, and electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.

Strategic Supplier vs. Commodity Vendor

Specialized materials such as EMI/RFI silicones, military and aerospace silicones, and USP Class VI medical silicones aren’t commodity materials. So, isn’t it time to expect more value than you’d get from a commodity vendor? Make SSP your strategic supplier and combine the benefits of ready-to-convert elastomers and high-quality fabricated products with material selection and design assistance, converting and fabricating advice, and technical education and training.

To learn more, contact us.