How is the profile of an extruded rubber seal to be measured?

[FastMath]

I have an ongoing dispute with a collegue regarding how the cross section of an extruded rubber seal is to be measured. He claims that the seal should be constrained while it is being measured, I think it should be in a free state while it is being measured. I feel that if you constrain the cross section obvious dimensional flaws will be hidden.

What is the industry standard for measuring rubber cross sections and where can I find it?

Please feel free to leave your general opinions as well.

 

[mk2000]

It depends on the application of the rubber part. However it is common to specify unconstrained part and also dimension in application specific state. I case of an O-ring for example they give the unloaded state and then there is a formula that determined the final shape in a specific configuration.