Mechanical Face Seals Engineered for Heavy-Duty Rotary Applications

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FORT WAYNE, Ind.--A developer and manufacturer of precision seals has launched a new range of seals that are expressly engineered for rotating applications in extremely demanding environments. Trelleborg Sealing Solutions reports that its Mechanical Face Seals, available with metal parts in cast iron or bearing steel, are designed to withstand severe wear and prevent ingress of harsh and abrasive external media. The bearing steel option offers "significant cost savings on medium to large seals within suitable applications," the company said in a recent statement.

The Mechanical Face Seal, also commonly referred to as Face Seal or Heavy Duty Seal, consists of two identical metal sealing rings that are mounted, face-to-face on a lapped seal face, in two separate housings. The metal rings are typically centered within their housings by O-Rings or by elastomers with a diamond-shaped cross section. One-half of the Mechanical Face Seal remains static in the housing, while the other half rotates with its counter face.

"Up to 7.2 ft/s, the bearing steel option, due to lower process and material costs, can offer significant savings, especially for medium-to-large size Mechanical Face Seals," said Colin Macqueen, director, technology for Trelleborg Sealing Solutions Americas. "In addition, there is more flexibility in design, allowing the seals to be custom-engineered for specific housings."

The metal part of the Mechanical Face Seal is available in special heat-treated, high-alloy corrosion-resistant mold cast iron or a forged, roller bearing steel. Selection of material depends on operating conditions. Cast iron will operate in speeds up to 10 ft/s / 3 m/s with oil lubrication; for rotational speeds up to 7.2 ft/s / 2.2 m/s, bearing steel is adequate. The elasticity of the O-Rings or elastomer rings is said to generate a uniform axial face loading for the metal rings, and these O-Rings act as static seals on the inner and outer diameter. In addition, they prevent the metal seal ring on the static side of the Metal Face Seal from turning within the housing; they also transmit the torque from the rotating half of the housing, through the faces, to the static half.

Trelleborg (www.tss.trelleborg.com/us) says that Mechanical Face Seals are well suited for sealing in heavy-duty rotating applications, such as rollers, front idlers, and final drives of tracked vehicles, graders, shovels, ploughs, and scrapers on tractors; off-highway trucks; and drilling machines. Applications are also said to include hydraulic excavators, conveyors, concrete mixers, asphalt plants, mining equipment, crushing equipment, mowers, hay balers, and wind turbines.

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