Patent ID: 7975716

Claim:
A method of making and assembling a disk-shaped elastomeric puck into a recess of a plunger of an aerospace solenoid valve, the method comprising: die cutting the puck from a sheet of material so that the puck has a cylindrically cut edge and a uniform thickness between axial faces of the puck; manufacturing the recess to have a fixed puck retaining lip and a diameter larger than a diameter of the puck in a region between the lip and a bottom of the recess; positioning the puck in a tool having a conical inside surface with a diminishing internal diameter registered with an opening in the retaining lip so that the cylindrical surface of the puck engages the conical inside surface; forcing the puck through the conical surface so that the puck is radially compressed and axially elongated as the puck advances; forcing the radially compressed puck through a region where the internal diameter registers with the opening in the retaining lip so that the puck passes through the retainer lip and into the recess; allowing the elastomeric puck to expand radially into a portion of a radial space available within the recess to a position in which: a) the puck has a radial clearance within the recess, b) the puck is axially compressed between an inner edge of the lip and a bottom of the recess; c) the axial compression holds the puck in a fixed position within the recess, and d) an outer axial face of the puck is disposed to extend across the opening at the inner edge of the lip where it can engage a valve seat within the opening in the lip.