Avoiding Spiral Twist with the Quad-Ring Brand Seal

Founded in 1945, Minnesota Rubber and Plastics is a pioneer in the design and production of four-lobed seals with the Quad-Ring® Brand seal design.

Today these seals are used around the world for a wide variety of static and dynamic sealing applications.

Avoiding Spiral Twist

To minimize breakaway friction, an O-Ring groove must be wide enough to allow rolling or twisting of the seal. In the long stroke of a reciprocating seal application, this twisting action can strain and eventually tear the rubber, causing a failure mode known as spiral twist.

To prevent spiral twist, the Quad-Ring Brand seal four-lobed configuration is designed to withstand the distortion and extrusion often caused by high or pulsating pressure. To accommodate these forces, a Quad-Ring Brand seal uses a narrower groove than a comparable O-Ring seal.

Longer Seal Life

Because less squeeze means less friction with the four-lobe design, seals last longer. Therefore, equipment in which the Quad-Ring Brand seal is installed will operate longer and require less maintenance.

No Parting Line on Sealing Surface

Unlike O-Rings, where parting lines are on the sealing surface, Quad-Ring Brand seals' parting lines lie between the lobes, away from the sealing surface. This design eliminates the problems of leakage resulting from a parting line's irregular surface.

Other Quad® Brand Products

Modified Quad-Ring® - For sealing across a broader tolerance range, the Modified Quad-Ring® Brand seal has a deeper valley than the original Quad-Ring® Brand seal design, thereby producing a lower deflection force. In OEM applications such as plastic housings, this seal design has reduced load with less creep. Designed for pressures less than 120 psi (8.1 bar). Modified Quad-Ring® Brand seals recently were granted a new patent.

Quad-O-Dyn® - For dynamic sealing applications providing near-zero leakage at pressures to 2000psi (138bar) and higher. This six-lobed configuration, designed with two primary and four backup sealing surfaces, has excellent sealing features in very difficult applications. It can be used with standard O-Ring grooves.

Quad-Bon® - Ideal for applications with oversized grooves, strong spiraling pressures and as a retrofit for existing O-Ring applications. This four-lobed configuration has the widest valley in our custom cross section product line. It provides excellent sealing features.

Be sure to consult a Gallagher Engineer if you have specific questions about Quad Ring applications.