Reverse Engineering is the act of taking a gasket with known functional history and creating a totally functional alternate using material substitutions or other available gasket technologies. In the case of gaskets, it is the careful analysis of the manufacturer’s OE (original equipment) gasket and/or OES (original equipment service) gasket. There may be special requirements or conditions that service gaskets must accommodate (i.e. mating flange surface warpage). You will probably find that most OE and OES gaskets are one in the same.
A lot of so called Replacement Gaskets may already exist from domestic or overseas sources. It is not my recommendation that these be the sole source for information to be used in your reverse engineering gasket. I recommend using the OE and/or OES part for these reasons:
- They have been thoroughly tested and have a history of performance in the application. Your reverse engineered part will not have that rigorous performance testing and field history. In other words, piggyback on their success.
- Any deficiencies in the original issue of the part will have been engineered into it. Many gaskets have a revision number identifying it. Some revisions numbers are built into the part number if stamped or printed on the gasket.
Simple rules for reverse engineering gaskets:
- Always work off of the latest revision of the gasket OE or OES gasket. If these are not available, use replacement gaskets manufactured by well established, full service, OEM suppliers who have a reputation for thoroughness and gasket engineering ability.
- Carefully analyze the OE parts for:
- Plan area dimensions, hole size and locations. A few of these may be dowel pin holes for precise location.
- Classify as simple die-cut gaskets cut from sheet goods or more complex assemblies of multiple components. These have to be handled as will be seen later.
- If a paper or compressed product is the sole component, try and identify it by thickness, binder type, fiber type, coatings, compressibility and as many physical properties as can be gained. Often, your current materials supplier can help in this identification.
- With much more complex gaskets most notably cylinder head gaskets for gasoline or diesel engines, the use of strategic components such as wire rings, metal grommets, screen printing, molded inserts, coatings etc. must be identified not only by thickness and size but by material composition, and other very important processing standards.
Through my many years of designing, developing, testing and analyzing gaskets, I know the critical design and processing requirements which result in a functionally robust design. I can provide you the guidance you may need in reverse engineering your product.
I would also be able to critique designs from third party sources and weight their merits and/or deficiencies. This is particularly critical when buying from unknown offshore sources.