These blue “arms” blow air onto the extrusion, drying it in preparation for testing and packaging.

It’s a short but interesting manufacturing process. The material comes in pellet form that is control fed through a hopper into a spiralling screw or ram. The pellets are heated, mixed and compressed as they are fed through the screw, and finally forced through the die into its final shape. After the gasket is extruded, it is immediately cooled in chilled water, and then dried before being cut into designated lengths and boxed, or rolled onto a spool.