What Are Rubber Grommets And Where Are They Used?

Rubber grommets are something that you’ve already probably seen a lot of times in your life, you just don’t quite remember them because you think they’re another insignificant item laying down in your garage. However, that’s not entirely true, and rubber grommets have very significant use in many different scenarios. Let’s learn a bit more about them.

What are rubber grommets?

Rubber grommets are obviously made of rubber, but you can sometimes find these things in different materials depending on what they need to be used for. Sometimes they can be silicone, other times they can be made out of metal or plastic. The original ones are made out of rubber, however, and they have the purpose of protecting people from sharp edges in metal products.

If you’re working with metal, chances are that you already know how dangerous it can be if you cut yourself, so these things are used exactly for that purpose, preventing cuts. Some people know them by the name of “eyelids”, simply because they remind you of an eye, but we feel like grommets are the more popular and professional term. Feel free to click here if you want to learn some more.

Shapes and Sizes

Rubber grommets can come in many different shapes or sizes, and they don’t always have to be circular. Just like they don’t have to be always made out of rubber, they don’t have to always be circular as well. If you go to a hardware store where grommets are being sold, you will notice that there are quite a few different shapes of them that you can purchase.

If you are planning on buying grommets, it is worthy to remember that they almost always come to a lot cheaper if purchased in bulk. So, unless you need just a few, it is much better to place larger order in order to get a discount.

Other important uses

Grommets are used for many different things, and although we already mentioned the main reason, which is to protect you from sharp metal edges, there are quite a lot of others that are also as important. In the wire installment industry, when a wire is supposed to go through a hole in a metal, a two-piece plastic grommet is used in order to hold it together safely. If the grommet is installed as it should be, it will safely grip the wire and make it impossible for someone to pull it out or damage it.

Also, they are often used in order to protect lines, cables, and wires from grazing or chafing on rough surfaces. In many cases, they are used to reduce vibration, which is something that requires the grommet to be made out of rubber or silicone because plastic and metal can still cause a lot of vibration in some scenarios.

Chances are that you have tons of rubber grommets installed somewhere around your home, you just don’t know it because you’ve never paid a lot of attention to these little things. In the industry, however, they are very important and used on a daily basis.