A trend we've seen in recent years is industries moving towards completely silicone-free facilities for manufacturing.
One sector where we have particularly seen this shift is the aerospace industry.
In aerospace settings, precision is critical, with only certain materials meeting strict guidelines when masking or protection is required for electronics, sensors, optical lenses and other sensitive equipment.
Rubber materials including EPDM, NR, neoprene, SBR, NBR and Viton are popular alternatives for silicone-free facilities, performing under the intense pressures of finishing processes including anodizing, chem film and wet paint while simultaneously avoiding issues like fish-eyeing and surface contamination.
Rubber alternatives handle varying temperatures and environments, standing up to intense UV and atomic oxygen exposure. Furthermore, they perform well in aerospace quality checks including water break testing performed before painting processes can begin. Rubber components also offer ultra-low outgassing to avoid issues with fogging of optical lenses and sensing equipment critical to operations.
Rubber components are a preferred masking option throughout the aerospace industry for processes including anodizing, conformal coating, chem film, e-coating, powder coating, wet paint and more, standing up to each of these masking processes without failing or leaving behind contaminants.
Whether you need neoprene caps and plugs for those tough masking jobs or EPDM plugs when chemical resistance is required, our catalog has options to fit most needs.
In addition to our standard rubber product line, Caplugs offers complete custom rubber capabilities with the ability to produce most silicone catalog components in rubber alternatives upon request.
Our in-house rubber compounding capabilities offer further customization allowing for greater UV and ozone resistance, heat and flame resistance, fluid resistance, as well as vibration and sound dampening critical to most aircraft and aerospace operations.
Caplugs aerospace rubber production is backed by ISO-certified facilities featuring advanced molding capabilities, Class 8 cleanrooms, and complete in-house tooling. With our expanding manufacturing footprint, including our new facility in Malaysia, we provide global support for high-quality, consistent rubber components at scale.
✔ No Residue - Removes cleanly without leaving behind contaminants that can disrupt adhesion or surface quality.
✔ Flame Resistance – Meet flame resistance standards. Rubber options available with UL94 flame resistance ratings.
✔ ESD (Conductivity & Static Dissipation) – For managing and preventing electrostatic discharge.
✔ UV/Ozone Resistance - Stands up to intense UV and ozone exposure common in aerospace environments without degrading.
✔ Flexibility - Conforms easily to complex geometries for a secure, consistent mask.
✔ Thermal Management - Reliable performance across a wide temperature range, from curing ovens to cold environments.
✔ Custom Coloring – Pantone and RAL color matching available for easy visual identification on the line.
✔ Finishing Safe – Ideal for anodizing, conformal coating, e-coating, powder coating, wet painting and other finishing processes.
Whether you need a standard catalog rubber plug, a custom molded rubber component, or help converting an existing silicone part, our engineering team is ready to deliver a solution for your exact specs.
To learn more about our range of rubber components and how they can support your aircraft and aerospace rubber needs, contact us today at sales@caplugs.com or call directly at 1.888.CAPLUGS.
Whether you require off-the-shelf rubber parts or have custom needs, Caplugs has the available product lines and expert in-house team to meet your specific aerospace rubber needs.
For custom solutions, let the largest, most experienced in-house team of design engineers develop it for you from initial design to final production. We offer extensive custom molding solutions to meet your cost, performance, and production requirements for technical rubber parts.
