Monthly Archives: October 2018
- October 30, 2018
Equipment manufacturers, suppliers, and drill service providers have become highly competitive to secure remaining contracts in order to stay operational during this recent downturn in the industry. Looking for new strategies to succeed in this current market, companies are investigating alternative products and designs to maximize flexibility and efficiencies. Whether in the exploring, drilling, or production of oil, equipment manufacturers are looking for products that provide high levels of performance that will set themselves apart from the competition.
Bearing materials in the oil & gas industry are presented with the most demanding conditions requiring high load capacity in poor environments and sporadic service schedules. Columbia Industrial Products offer CIP Composites to the oil & gas industry as light weight, self-lubricating composite materials that have a long service life. Although commonly used for bearings, wear pads and thrust washers, CIP’s ability to provide large custom size solutions give the oil & gas industry the ability to use our materials in a wide range of applications. CIP Composites are ideal for replacing greased bronze bearings, and can be easily installed by press fitting or freeze fitting with the ability to machine in place.
- October 23, 2018
Gallagher recently recorded the Rubber Energized Seals webinar, discussing rubber energized rod or piston seals, and the advantages and disadvantages to using some of the most common seal profiles. This webinar is presented in conjunction with one of our trusted partners, Eclipse Engineering, Inc. Eclipse is a designer and manufacturer of high performance engineered polymer solutions.
This section of the webinar will discuss some of the more common profiles for rubber energized seals, including x-rings, u-cups, buffer rings, cap seals, etc.
To view the webinar in its entirety, visit our Resources page and fill out the form, or
- October 18, 2018
Due to the growing energy density of battery systems, the developers of lithium ion batteries must satisfy ever higher safety requirements. It is especially crucial to keep a single damaged cell from overheating the entire battery module. Freudenberg Sealing Technologies has developed a innovative heat shields for use in prismatic and pouch cells with almost no impact on the required installation space. It combines the high heat resistance of a silicone-based elastomer with the high insulating properties of air.
The goal is greater range without the battery growing in size and weight: High energy density, which has been battery developers’ top priority, creates a basis for the broad acceptance of electric vehicles. But the more energy is stored in a confined space, the greater the safety requirements. So precautions are essential in case a damaged cell overheats. Experts call the phenomenon “thermal runaway,” and it can cause the temperatures in a cell to rise as high as 600°C. The risk is that the battery’s cooling system would not be able to drain the heat away quickly enough under these conditions. If neighboring healthy cells also heat up due to the heat buildup, a chain reaction can result that, in the worst case, could lead the entire battery system to explode.
- October 11, 2018
The Challenge
By switching from gasket seals of PTFE to custom gaskets of DuPont™ Kalrez® perfluoroelastomer parts in the sensor head of a process instrument refractometer used by the food, pulp and paper and chemical industries, process instrument manufacturer K-Patents Oy, Vantaa, Finland, was able to dramatically extend instrument service life, increase reliability and safety, and reduce costs for the company and its customers.
The Solution
Aggressive environment
Through permanent in-line fluids immersion, K-Patents’ “PR-01-S” refractometer is exposed to temperatures from –20 ° to +220 °C, pressures from –0,7 to +25 bar, and some 500 process fluids and chemicals, many of which are extremely aggressive. Delicate digital detector circuits and fiber optics in the sensor head are sealed by two gaskets from attack by aggressive fluids. Because of inherent inelasticity, the original PTFE gaskets could not withstand the dynamic temperature fluctuations of many food, pulp and paper and chemical manufacturing processes, creating a leak path allowing process media to enter and damage the device. As a result, costly replacement of the PTFE seal became necessary approximately every 6–12 months. - October 09, 2018
Considerations When Choosing a Rubber Energized Seal
Gallagher recently recorded the Rubber Energized Seals webinar, discussing rubber energized rod or piston seals, and the advantages and disadvantages to using some of the most common seal profiles. This webinar is presented in conjunction with one of our trusted partners, Eclipse Engineering, Inc. Eclipse Engineering, Inc. is a designer and manufacturer of high performance engineered polymer solutions.
This first section of the webinar will discuss some of the things you should consider when designing a seal for an application, as well some of the more basic seals, such as o-rings, gaskets, etc.
- October 04, 2018
PUR-GARD™ bearing isolators offer the ultimate rotating equipment sealing solutions for the food processing industry. Manufactured with materials that are FDA compliant, metal detectable and x-ray inspectable while utilizing a patented IP66 design, Garlock PUR-GARD™ is a revolutionary seal that combines improved safety and overall process purity with cost savings through extended equipment and bearing life.
Features & Benefits
- Patented labyrinth design provides bearing protection even in the most challenging environments, extending the life of rotating equipment
- Unitized construction will not come apart during installation
- IP66 in most common design configurations
- Non-contacting design reduces shaft drag and energy consumption
- Available in a broad range of configurations
- Substantially reduced installation time - NO ARBOR PRESS NEEDED
- No metal-to-metal contact
- Metal detectable and x-ray inspectable
Typical Applications
Rotating equipment (pumps, motors, gearboxes) exposed to heavy wash down and/or zone 1 and 2 applications.
- October 02, 2018
Article re-posted with permission from Parker Hannifin Sealing & Shielding Team.
Original content can be found on Parker’s Blog.
Semiconductor FFKM Offers Low Particle Generation AND Extreme Etch Resistance
In the world of semiconductor manufacturing, performance requirements are driving circuit sizes smaller and smaller, causing increased sensitivity to wafer defects. In parallel, the number of manufacturing steps has also increased driving a need for improved tool utilization and leaving more opportunity for these defects to be introduced. Identifying and eliminating the sources of defects is a tedious but necessary process to improve wafer yield.
What impact does seal contamination make?
One very distinct source of defects are the seals within a fab’s tool. Plasmas involved in both deposition, etch and cleaning processes utilize aggressive chemistries that put even high-functioning perfluorinated sealing compounds to the test. Much room for improvement has been left in this industry with many seal materials still posing significant threats to defectivity or downtime despite being designed for low particle generation or etch resistance.
How can Parker ULTRA™ change the industry?
Parker’s UltraTM FF302 Perfluorelastomer has proven success in CVD and etch applications, putting this material at the top of its class. Typically, seal materials for semiconductor applications are optimized for low particulation or extreme etch resistance, however, Ultra FF302 provides both attributes in one material. Laboratory testing shows Ultra FF302 has lower erosion in aggressive plasma chemistries even when compared to today’s leading elastomeric materials (Figure 1 below shows comparison erosion levels of various etch resistant perfluoroelastmers after exposure to O2 plasma).