Compression Set: The Silent Killer of EMI Gaskets
Why Your Gaskets Aren’t Holding Up It starts small: A device shows signs of interference. Moisture creeps into an enclosure that’s supposed to be sealed. The issue compounds, and suddenly, your carefully engineered system isn’t performing as it should. You replace the EMI gasket , but you’re back where you started within weeks. What went wrong? The problem often lies in a detail that’s easy to overlook but impossible to ignore: compression set. This single property of your gasket material determines whether your seal stays effective or collapses under pressure—literally. Let’s explore how compression set impacts performance, why it fails in demanding applications, and what you can do to fix it for good. What is Compression Set and Why it Matters Compression set measures how well a gasket material recovers after being compressed. It’s expressed as a percentage: the lower the percentage, the better the material is at bouncing back to its original shape. For example: Low compr...