An O-ring is one of the simplest, yet highly critical, precision mechanical components ever developed. But, there are new advances that may take some of the burden of critical sealing away from the O-ring. There are cottage industries of elastomer consultants assisting in designing O-ring-less pressure vessels. Nano-technology-rubber is one such new frontier. Presently, these advancements are increasing the importance of O-rings. Since O-rings encompass the areas of chemistry and material science, any advancement in nano-rubber will affect the O-ring industry.

Nitrile / NBR: Nitrile (Buna-N) is the most widely used elastomer due to its excellent resistance to petroleum products, operating temperature range (-40°F to +257°F) and one of the best performance-to-cost values. It's an ideal material for aerospace, automotive, propane and natural gas applications. Special Hydrogenated Nitrile (HNBR) compounds can improve resistance to direct ozone, sunlight, and weather exposure while increasing temperature range to +300°F.

The rubber industry has gone through its share of transformation after the accident. Many O-rings now come with batch and cure date coding, as in the medicine industry, to precisely track and control distribution. For aerospace and military/defense applications, O-rings are usually individually packaged and labeled with the material, cure date, and batch information. O-rings can, if needed, be recalled off the shelf. Furthermore, O-rings and other seals are routinely batch-tested for quality control by the manufacturers, and often undergo Q/A several more times by the distributor and ultimate end users.

For sealings, there are variations in cross-section design other than circular. The shape can have different profiles, an x-shaped profile, commonly called the X-ring, Q-ring, or by the trademarked name Quad Ring. When squeezed upon installation, they seal with 4 contact surfaces—2 small contact surfaces on the top and bottom. This contrasts with the standard O-ring's comparatively larger single contact surfaces top and bottom. X-rings are most commonly used in reciprocating applications, where they provide reduced running and breakout friction and reduced risk of spiraling when compared to O-rings.