Products

Sapphire and Ruby Orifice Jewels

Sapphire and Ruby orifice jewels are precision-engineered components used in applications requiring highly accurate fluid or gas flow control. Manufactured from synthetic Sapphire or Ruby, these jewels combine exceptional hardness, chemical resistance and precise dimensional accuracy to ensure reliable performance in demanding environments.

Sapphire and Ruby jewels are commonly utilized where low friction, high wear resistance, and dimensional stability over time are critical. They are especially valuable in applications that involve extremely fine fluid dynamic, two areas of relevance being inkjet printer heads and hematology instruments.

Advantages

• Smooth Flow: Thanks to extremely smooth bore, maintains stable droplet formation and prevents ink clogging.

• Chemical Resistance: Sapphire is inert to printing inks and cleaning solvents, ensuring that the bearing/orifice won’t degrade or corrode over time.

Typical Applications

Orifice jewels are widely used in:

• Medical Devices: For precise fluid delivery in infusion pumps and analytical instruments. Flow regulators, spray nozzles and high-pressure valves.
• Aerospace: For fuel injection and fluid flow measurement in critical systems.
• Water Jet Cutting: As nozzles for high-pressure water streams.
• Inkjet Printers: In inkjet printer heads, DOD, fluid delivery must be precise and consistent. The inks are expelled in micron-scale droplets at high frequencies.

Customization options

• Orifice Sizes: Polish ID starting from 30 micron.
• Shapes: Available in disk, dome, or custom configurations.
• Mounting Features: Can include collars or housings for easy integration into systems.

Key Material Properties

• Extreme Hardness: With a Mohs hardness of 9, Sapphire and Ruby resist wear, ensuring long operational life.
• Dimensional Precision: These jewels can be manufactured with micrometer-level accuracy to control flow rates with high consistency.
• Chemical Resistance: They are inert to chemicals, making them ideal for corrosive or high-purity environments. environments.
• Thermal Stability: They maintain performance across a wide temperature range, from cryogenic to high-heat conditions.
• High Polishing: Smooth surfaces reduce turbulence and improve flow efficiency.

Sapphire and Ruby wafers are thin, disk-shaped substrates engineered for use in a variety of advanced technological and scientific applications. Sapphire is essentially pure Al₂O₃, Ruby contains small amounts of chromium that give it a characteristic red color.

Sapphire and Ruby wafers combine exceptional mechanical strength, chemical resilience.

Advantages

• High Purity and Reliability: Single-crystal wafers provide uniform properties and minimal defects, essential for sensitive electronics, photonics and analytical instrumentation.
• Longevity and Stability: Sapphire and Ruby’s hardness and chemical resistance ensure devices made from these wafers have long operational lifetimes with minimal degradation.
• Customizable Orientations and Dopants: Tailored crystallographic orientations and controlled doping (e.g., Cr for Ruby) allow engineers to achieve specific properties for specialized applications.
• Smooth, stable bore surfaces help maintain sample integrity and prevent clogging.
• Provide highly predictable flow rates in analytical devices, and industrial micro-dispensing systems.

Typical Applications

• Hematology Instrumentation:  Precisely controlled apertures ensure consistent blood cell counting and sizing, improving diagnostic accuracy.
• Inkjet Printing: The precise ID and smooth bore enable uniform droplet formation and consistent ink flow for better print quality and reliability. Resistance to ink chemistries and wear extends nozzle life and reduces maintenance requirements.
• Flow Control Components
• Biomedical and Analytical Tools
• Micro-engineered devices such as precision bearings, encoders, and alignment components.
  

Customization options

• Thickness and Diameter: Typical wafer diameters can range from a few millimeters up to several inches, depending on the application and growth method. Thickness can be controlled to very tight tolerances, often down to tens of micrometers.
• Surface Preparation: High-precision polishing techniques yield surfaces with sub-nanometer roughness. The wafers are often cut along specific crystallographic orientations (e.g., C-plane, A-plane, R-plane) to tailor their anisotropic thermal, optical, or mechanical properties.

Key Material Properties

• Hardness
• Thermal Stability
• Chemical Inertness

Sapphire Ball Seat for Check Valve Overview

A Sapphire ball seat is a precision-engineered component designed to function as a check valve in pump assemblies or metering devices, and other fluid control or mechanical measurement systems. By using a very precise Sapphire or Ruby ball in tandem with the seat, the valve ensures a highly reliable seal. The hardness and dimensional stability of Sapphire allow for an exceptionally tight contact area between the ball and the seat, ensuring minimal leakage and consistent, repeatable sealing performance.

Advantages 

• Tight Spherical Tolerances: Balls are lapped and polished to exact spherical tolerances.
• Ultra-Smooth Finish.
• Dimensional Stability over time.

Benefits of Sapphire Ball Seats in Check Valves

• Extended Lifespan: exceptional hardness and wear resistance greatly reduce the need for maintenance or replacement.
• Consistent Performance: The stable mechanical and chemical characteristics of Sapphire translate into predictable and repeatable fluid control over the life of the component.
• Minimal Leakage: Precision-polished contact surfaces and exact spherical geometry ensure an exceptionally tight seal, minimizing unwanted fluid backflow.
• Chemical & Temperature Resistance: Compatible with a wide range of operating conditions, enabling broader application scopes.
• Performance Reliability: Consistent sealing and reduced leakage improve device efficiency and repeatability.

Typical Applications

• Check Valves.
• Flow Regulators: controlled and repeatable flow rates.
• High-Precision Metering in dosing or dispensing systems.
• Analytical Equipment in chemical and medical industries.
• Flow control systems used with abrasive or corrosive fluids thanks to hardness and chemical inertness.

Conclusion

Sapphire and Ruby ball seats combine extraordinary hardness, chemical inertness, and precise geometry to deliver stable, leak-tight, and durable interfaces in valves, pumps, and other precision fluid control or measurement systems. Their reliability, longevity, and consistent performance make them indispensable components in high-end industrial, medical, and analytical instrumentation.

Sapphire rods are versatile, durable, and reliable components used in a wide range of applications, from high-tech optical systems to harsh industrial environments. Their hardness, transparency, and resistance to high temperatures and chemicals make them indispensable in industries such as electronics, aerospace, medical devices, and more. Whether you’re looking for a stock Sapphire rod or a custom solution, this material offers unmatched performance for demanding applications.

Typical Applications

• Optical and Photonics: Often used in optical systems, such as lenses, windows, and prisms, where transparency and resistance to scratching are important. They can be used in UV, visible, and infrared applications for lasers, sensors, and other optical instruments.
• Semiconductor Industry: Sapphire rods are used as substrates for the growth of certain types of semiconductors, particularly in the production of LEDs. Sapphire is an ideal material for this purpose due to its optical transparency and durability.
• Aerospace and Defense: They are used for protective windows or housings for high-end sensors or equipment exposed to extreme conditions.
• Medical Devices: Due to their biocompatibility, Sapphire rods can be used in certain medical applications, including implants and high-precision tools, where durability and chemical resistance are required.
• Pumps: Sapphire and Ruby rods are used in the construction of precision pumps, where their hardness and resistance to wear are critical. They can be used for components such as pistons, shafts.
• Light Pipes: Polished Sapphire rods are often used as light pipes in optical systems. Their transparency and ability to transmit light make them ideal for transferring light over a distance with minimal loss.
• Spacers: Due to their high resistance to wear and their insulating properties, Sapphire and Ruby rods are often used as spacers in various mechanical and electronic systems, ensuring precise spacing between components while providing resistance to heat and chemicals.
• Insulators: Both Sapphire and Ruby rods are excellent electrical insulators, making them ideal for insulating high-voltage or sensitive electrical components in various industrial and scientific equipment. 

Customization options

Specific lengths, diameters, and shapes are available, to meet the unique requirements of different applications. Sapphire rods can also be coated with various materials to enhance their performance for specific uses, such as anti-reflective coatings for optical applications or wear-resistant coatings for mechanical uses.

Key Material Properties

• High Hardness and Durability
• Temperature Stability
• Optical Transparency
• Chemical Inertness
• Electrical Insulation

A Sapphire tube is a precision-engineered component made from synthetic Sapphire.

Typical Applications

• Medical: Ideal for surgical tools, endoscopic systems, and laser delivery devices.
• Aerospace: Used in navigation systems, sensors, and protective covers for harsh environments.
• Optics: Common in laser systems, spectroscopy, and precision optical assemblies.
• Semiconductors: As an insulating and protective material in wafer processing.
• Industrial: Used in high-pressure systems, flow control, and chemical processing due to its strength and chemical resistance

Customization options

• Diameter and Length: Customizable for specific applications.
• Wall Thickness: Thin-walled or thick-walled depending on pressure and strength requirements.
• End Shapes: Can include polished, bevelled, or flanged ends for specific mounting or sealing needs.

Key Material Properties

• Electrical Insulation: High electrical resistance makes it suitable for insulating high-voltage components.
• High Strength and Hardness
• Chemical Inertness
• Optical Transparency
• Thermal Stability: Excellent performance in extreme temperatures, both high and low

Sapphire windows stand out due to their combination of strength, optical clarity, and resistance to wear, temperature, and chemicals. These attributes make them indispensable in high-performance environments where other materials may fail. Whether you need stock Sapphire windows or customized solutions, this material offers unmatched performance for a wide range of industries.

Advantages

• High Mechanical Strength: Sapphire is one of the hardest materials known. This makes Sapphire windows highly resistant to scratches and physical wear,
• Temperature Stability: Sapphire has excellent thermal stability, able to withstand extreme temperature fluctuations without degrading. This property makes it ideal for use in high-temperature applications.
• Wear Resistance: Due to its hardness and scratch resistance, Sapphire windows can maintain their optical clarity and functionality even in abrasive or harsh environments.
• Chemical Inertness
• Transparency: Sapphire windows are optically clear over a wide range of wavelengths, including in the ultraviolet (UV) and infrared (IR) spectrums

Typical Applications

• Optical Applications: Sapphire windows are used in laser systems, cameras, and high-end optical devices, where their clarity and resistance to damage are critical.
• Mechanical Applications: Due to their toughness, Sapphire windows are commonly used in mechanical systems as protective covers or barriers. For instance, they are used in watches, sensors, and other precision instruments that require high durability.
• Harsh Environment Barriers: Sapphire windows excel in high-pressure, high-temperature, or chemically aggressive environments. They are used to shield sensitive components from the environment while allowing light to pass through with minimal distortion.

Customization options and Stock Parts

Sapphire window manufacturers typically offer a range of standard stock options, including various thicknesses, diameters, and grades. However, they also provide custom Sapphire window solutions, which may include custom shapes (e.g., circular, rectangular, or irregular), specific coatings (anti-reflective coatings, protective coatings), and even precision polishing to meet the exact optical or mechanical specifications needed for specialized applications.

Sapphire Blades are precision cutting tools made from synthetic Sapphire , chosen for their unique combination of hardness, chemical inertness, and wear resistance. With a hardness second only to diamond, Sapphire blades maintain exceptionally sharp cutting edges and deliver consistently precise cuts.

Typical Applications

They are commonly used in specialized industries and applications where traditional metal blades fall short, including:

• Semiconductor Manufacturing: Ideal for dicing wafers and other delicate components, Sapphire blades ensure minimal chipping and particle contamination, contributing to higher yield and device quality.
• Medical and Biomedical Research: In surgical tools or laboratory equipment, their sterility, wear resistance, and precision enable clean incisions and improve procedural outcomes.
• Aerospace and Defense: Sapphire’s strength and thermal stability provide consistent cutting performance in harsh conditions, making these blades valuable for shaping advanced materials.
• High-Precision Industrial Cutting: Whether slicing optical materials, ceramics, or composites, Sapphire blades offer fine-tuned accuracy, reduced downtime due to blade wear, and improved overall productivity.
• Fiber Optic Scribes: Providing smooth, accurate cuts for high-quality fiber terminations
• Tape Cleaners: Ensuring precise, consistent cleaning without scratching delicate surfaces
• Surgical Knives: Utilizing Sapphire’s biocompatibility and hardness for safer, more precise incisions

Because of their extraordinary durability, chemical inertness, and superior edge retention, Sapphire blades represent a premium solution for applications where exacting precision and consistent performance are essential.

Sapphire Washers Overview

Sapphire washers offer a durable, insulating, and dimensionally stable solution for applications requiring robust mechanical support, chemical resistance, and reliable electrical isolation. From insulators in electronic systems to precision guides in analytical instruments, Sapphire washers stand up to challenging conditions while maintaining their shape, functionality, and performance over the long term.

Advantages

• Longevity: Exceptional wear resistance and chemical inertness ensure extended operational life, lowering maintenance costs and downtime.
• Consistent Performance: Dimensional stability and high compressive strength maintain reliable function over a wide range of temperatures, pressures, and chemical exposures.
• High Purity & Cleanliness: Sapphire’s non-porous, smooth surface resists contamination and can be easily cleaned, making it suitable for ultra-clean or sensitive applications.

Typical Applications

• Insulator:
  • Electronics & High-Voltage Equipment: Serving as an electrical barrier between conductive parts, Sapphire washers ensure reliable insulation and reduced risk of short circuits.
  • Harsh Environmental Conditions: In corrosive or high-temperature environments, Sapphire’s inertness and thermal stability maintain insulation integrity.
• Guide or Bearing Surface:
  • Precision Instruments: Sapphire washers can function as low-friction guides or spacers in high-precision assemblies, such as laboratory instruments, optical devices, and metrology equipment.
  • Rotary and Linear Guides: The hardness and smoothness of Sapphire surfaces reduce friction and wear in moving assemblies, extending component lifespans and improving reliability.

Key Material Properties

• Hardness & Wear Resistance
• Chemical Inertness
• High Compressive Strength
• Electrical Insulation

Advantages

• High transparency across UV, visible, and IR spectrums.
• Abrasion Resistance.
• Impact resistance, making it suitable for protective and optical applications.

Typical Applications

• Domes and Windows: For high-pressure and high-temperature environments (e.g., underwater cameras).
• Lenses: In optical instruments and laser applications requiring precision.
• Medical: Protective covers or lenses in surgical tools and endoscopic systems.

Customization options

• Sizes from sub-millimeter to larger dimensions.
• Surface Finish from polished for optical use to matte for mechanical applications.
• Notches for specific mounting or assembly requirements.

Advantages 

• Extreme Hardness: Highly resistant to wear, impact, and scratching (Mohs scale 9).
• Chemical Stability: Ideal for harsh environments due to resistance to acids, alkalis, and solvents.
• Thermal and Electrical Performance: High-temperature stability and excellent electrical insulation.
• Optical Clarity: Often used in optical and measurement systems.

Typical Applications

• Bearings: For precision instruments in aerospace, medical, and industrial systems.
• Check Valves: For ensuring durability and longevity in fluid control.
• Optics: Used in laser systems, IR applications, and precision lenses.

Customization options

• Sizes from sub-millimeter to larger dimensions.
• Drilled Holes for specific mounting or assembly requirements.

Sapphire nozzles offer a reliable, long-lasting, and precision-focused solution for applications that demand stringent tolerances, extended nozzle lengths, and stable flow parameters. Whether in gas flow control, wafer processing, or inkjet printing, these nozzles deliver unparalleled performance and reduced operational costs over their service life.

Advantages

• Extended Lifespan: Superior hardness and resistance to chemical and mechanical wear reduce the frequency of nozzle replacements.
• Stable Flow Characteristics: Highly polished interiors and precise dimensions maintain consistent flow rates, droplet sizes, and spray patterns over extended use.

Typical Applications

• Gas & Air Flow:
  • High-precision gas jets in instrumentation, where consistent flow and minimized particle shedding are key.
  • Used in analytical devices and calibration standards to ensure stable and repeatable gas flow characteristics.
• Wafer Jet Cutting & Cleaning (Semiconductor Manufacturing):
  • Ultra-fine fluid jets for cutting, cleaning, and etching semiconductor wafers.
  • Maintains nozzle geometry despite exposure to abrasive slurries or corrosive etchants, enabling higher yields and cleaner cuts.
• Ink Jet Printing:
  • Consistent droplet formation for higher resolution and stable ink ejection, improving image quality and printer reliability.
  • Inertness and wear resistance to various ink chemistries, ensuring long-term nozzle performance.

Key Material Properties

• Hardness & Durability: Sapphire’s hardness, second only to diamond, enables the nozzle to resist abrasion from high-velocity fluids, particulates, and cleaning agents. This translates to significantly extended service life.
• Surface Finish & Precision: The ability to achieve extremely smooth internal surfaces and fine dimensional tolerances is greatly enhanced with Sapphire. This ensures consistent flow characteristics and reduced variation in droplet or jet formation.
• Chemical & Thermal Stability: Sapphire is chemically inert and remains dimensionally stable under broad temperature ranges, allowing for use in harsh chemical environments or processes with significant thermal cycling.

Sapphire Stylus

A Sapphire stylus is a small pin-point component where the end radius is controlled to as small as .001″. Sapphire’s hardness and ability to accept a good polish provide for a very hard and smooth tip which provide and excellent point of contact, perfect for a stylus.

Typical Applications

• Recording Instruments
• Accelerometers
• Vibration Sensors

Integrating Sapphire and Ruby Components with Other Materials

Sapphire and Ruby elements (such as bearings, nozzles, washers, and stylus tips) are often incorporated into assemblies alongside metals (like brass and ssteel) and various plastics and other metals. The combination leverages the superior hardness, chemical inertness, and dimensional stability of Sapphire and Ruby with the design flexibility, structural support, or cost-effectiveness of other materials. Proper material pairing and assembly techniques ensure that these hybrid components function reliably and efficiently.

Key Considerations for Integration

• Mechanical Interfaces:
  • Press-Fitting & Bonding: Sapphire and Ruby parts can be press-fit into metal or plastic housings that are machined to exact tolerances. Alternatively, specialized adhesives (e.g., epoxy or UV-curing glues) can bond Sapphire/Ruby to other substrates without causing damage.
  • Mechanical Retention Features: Grooves, shoulders, and flanges in the metal or plastic parts can hold and align the jewel component securely while allowing for easy assembly.
• Thermal Expansion Mismatch:
  • Low Thermal Expansion of Sapphire and Ruby: Sapphire and Ruby have relatively low coefficients of thermal expansion compared to many metals and plastics. This helps maintain dimensional stability under temperature fluctuations.
  • Compensation in Design: When pairing with materials that have higher thermal expansion (such as aluminum or certain plastics), careful design allowances (e.g., slightly oversized housings or compliant mounting structures) prevent stress on the jewel component as temperatures change.
• Chemical and Environmental Stability:
  • Inertness of Sapphire and Ruby: These crystals will not corrode, degrade, or react with most chemicals, lubricants, or cleaning agents. Metals (like stainless steel or brass) are chosen for their compatible corrosion resistance, and plastics are selected for chemical compatibility.
  • Protective Coatings: In harsh or corrosive environments, coatings on the metal portions or proper material selection for plastics ensure the entire assembly remains stable.
• Surface Finish and Tolerances:
  • Smooth Interfaces: Metal or plastic parts in contact with Sapphire/Ruby must be machined or molded to precise dimensions and smoothness to ensure stable seating and minimal stress concentrations.
  • Precision Alignment: High-precision assemblies (e.g., bearings, nozzles, optical mounts) benefit from CNC machining and metrology techniques to maintain alignment and minimize runout or wobble.
• Adhesive and Joining Techniques:
  • Adhesive Selection: Certain epoxies, cyanoacrylates, or optically clear UV glues can be chosen based on mechanical, thermal, and chemical requirements. The adhesive must bond well without damaging the Sapphire/Ruby or outgassing under vacuum conditions if required.
  • Low-Temperature Processes: Since Sapphire and Ruby can withstand very high temperatures, soldering or brazing the surrounding metal is possible, as long as the method does not induce thermal shock. For plastics, ultrasonic or thermal bonding techniques can be applied away from the delicate crystal part.
• Load and Stress Management:
  • Support Structures: Metals and plastics serve as a structural backbone. Sapphire and Ruby components, though extremely hard, can be brittle under certain load orientations (e.g., tensile stress or impact). Ensuring proper mechanical support and load distribution through the metal or plastic housing is essential.
  • Shock and Vibration Damping: In dynamic environments, the surrounding materials may incorporate damping features (rubber gaskets, shock mounts) to reduce sudden mechanical impacts on the Sapphire/Ruby component.

Typical Applications

• Bearings and Bushings: Sapphire or Ruby bearings pressed into stainless steel or brass housings provide low-friction, stable pivots in measurement instruments or microfluidic pumps.
• Nozzle Assemblies: Sapphire nozzles embedded in metal or plastic bodies are used in inkjet printing, wafer cleaning jets, or analytical instrumentation. The metal or plastic component can include threads, mounting features, and fluid connections.
• Insulating Washers and Spacers: Sapphire washers fitted into metal assemblies serve as electrical insulators. Metal frames provide the necessary structural support and mounting capabilities while the Sapphire maintains the dielectric gap.
• Sensing and Measurement Tips: Ruby stylus tips mounted onto metal probes enable precision contact measurement in coordinate measuring machines. The metal shaft and mounting components provide handling ease, while the Ruby tip offers stable dimensional references.

Conclusion

Integrating Sapphire and Ruby components with metals and plastics allows engineers to harness the best properties of each material. By carefully considering thermal expansion, chemical compatibility, mechanical tolerances, and assembly methods, one can create durable, high-precision, and high-performance assemblies suitable for a wide variety of advanced industrial, scientific, and commercial applications.

Sapphire Saddle Pin Overview

A Sapphire saddle pin is a small, rod-like component featuring a concave groove or “saddle” along its length. This groove acts as a channel that can capture and guide thin elements such as wires or fibers, keeping them centred and reducing lateral movement or misalignment.

Their hardness, chemical inertness, and precision finish make them indispensable components in demanding applications where consistent alignment and minimal wear are critical.

Advantages

• Extended Component Life: Exceptional hardness and chemical stability reduce wear, meaning fewer replacements and less downtime.
• Consistent Performance: Smooth, dimensionally stable grooves ensure reliable wire guidance, improving overall process consistency.
• Precision Machining: Advanced machining techniques, such as diamond grinding and lapping, produce the concave groove with tight tolerances and excellent surface finishes.

Typical Applications

• Wire Guides:
  • In coil winding machines, textile equipment, or electronics assembly lines, Sapphire saddle pins keep wires centred and prevent uneven feeding.
  • Ensures consistent tension and alignment, improving product quality and operational efficiency.
• Fiber Handling:
  • A Sapphire saddle pin can help maintain accurate fiber positioning during cutting, coating, or splicing.
  • The smoothness of Sapphire minimizes contamination and mechanical damage to delicate fibers.

Key Material Properties

• Hardness & Wear Resistance
• Chemical Inertness
• Smooth Surface Finish

Synthetic sapphire and ruby bearings are widely regarded as the optimal choice for precision mechanisms requiring exceptional hardness, low friction, and long-lasting performance. Their ability allow high polish and maintain dimensional stability makes them indispensable in devices, demanding accuracy and reliability. For example: meters and control devices.

Advantages

• High Polish and Smoothness: Reduces friction for precise and efficient operation.
• Chemical Stability: Resistant to corrosion and environmental degradation.
• Long Life and Reliability: These bearings exhibit minimal wear over time, crucial for devices that must run continuously or require minimal maintenance.
• Biocompatibility.
• Sapphire-bearings remain stable and maintain their dimensional integrity in harsh conditions.

Typical Applications

• Aerospace: For gyroscopes and navigational instruments.
• Medical: In surgical instruments and diagnostic equipment.
• Industrial: For high-precision meters, flow regulators, and control systems.
• Timekeeping: Essential components in high-end watches.
• Industrial Machinery: Where low friction and high durability are essential.