Ever made your own gaskets only to have them leak soon after?
If so read on.
So why gaskets any way? You would think that machined surfaces should mate together without oil getting a chance to escape. However, in the world of mass production this would almost certainly be too expensive. So the simple solution is to fit a gasket between the surfaces. Therein lies the dilemma: Which gasket. Gasket material has to be chosen carefully to ensure the correct "compressibility". Further considerations are operating temperature, the machining tolerances (smoothness of parts to be mated), type of fluid to be contained, fluid pressure, fastener tension, material cost, and component accessibility. Then you have to consider the various sealing compounds available.
