Freudenberg Sealing
- March 12, 2019
Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies has begun supplying innovative, lightweight radial shaft seals to a major Detroit-based vehicle manufacturer for installation on the V6 and V8 engines powering its newest pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles (SUVs). Enter the Freudenberg BlueSeal.
The BlueSeal, part of Freudenberg’s award-winning Low Emission Sealing Solution (LESS) portfolio of engine, transmission and E-Mobility product solutions, provides significant weight, friction and installation advantages over traditional radial shaft seals. Under the contract, Freudenberg-NOK will produce more than 2 million BlueSeals annually. Production is expected to increase further to more than 4 million units annually with orders from additional customers.
40 percent lighter and 50 percent less space to install
- February 12, 2019
Replacing Aging Water Infrastructure With NSF Compliant Materials
There are over 155,000 public water systems in the United States and more than 286 million Americans who rely on community water systems daily. Since most of the infrastructure was built between the early 1900's and 1960 using outdated technology/products and capabilities, nearly everything is approaching the natural end of it's lifespan.
Some estimates put the repairs and replacement of the infrastructure between $250B and $500B over the next 20-30 years. Several applications will need to be updated or fully replaced for the safety of consumers and quality of delivery, including:
- Joining and sealing materials
- Mechanical devices
- Pipes or related products
- January 15, 2019
Installing Radial Shaft Seals
Radial shaft seals, also known as lip seals, are used to seal rotary elements, like a shaft or rotating bore. Hydraulic pump seals, axle seals, valve stem seals, or strut seals are the most common examples the average person would recognize.
Radial shaft seals are used in a variety of applications and perform two essential functions: the first is to avoid leakage through retaining the bearing or system lubricant; the secondary function is to avoid the contamination of the system by outside impacts (external particles or environmental issues).
- January 02, 2019
Gear motors, pumps and stirring units keep process material in constant motion in the process industry’s production facilities. A large number of shaft seals are used at drive shafts to keep liquids securely within the equipment. But leaks may be more likely to occur if the pressure acting on the seals becomes too great. Freudenberg Sealing Technologies has developed a new rotary seal, the Gerromatic, which has a wave-shaped sealing lip. This increases the maximum amount of pressure that can be applied. The sinusoidal contact path also reduces friction and provides self-cleaning, which extends operating life.
In the process industry, including the food and beverage sector, shaft seals used in equipment mostly have a rotation-symmetrical seal lip, which abuts the rotating shaft with a groove-like contact pattern. During wet-running, this can cause the medium to be displaced at the contact surface. The seal then runs in a more or less dry condition, leading to increased friction and higher temperatures. The increased friction increases wear and reduces the efficiency of the equipment. The accompanying rise in temperature is not desirable, especially when the process media are temperature-sensitive. If the seal lip is also exposed to high temperatures at high rotational speeds – for example, due to a process material that applies pressure to the seal lip in a vessel with a stirring unit below it – the lip can fold down on the low-pressure side, which would result in immediate leakage and the seal’s failure.
- December 13, 2018
When it comes to sealing food and beverage systems against leaks, contamination and malfunctions, meeting a product specification does not guarantee that seals will function as needed, two Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies experts told a webinar audience in September. Freudenberg-NOK runs the business operations for Freudenberg Sealing Technologies in the Americas.
Freudenberg’s David Clark, Operations Manager, Central Laboratory and with Ryan Fleming, Analytical Laboratory Manager, provided insight about the nature of elastomers, market trends like custom flavor combinations, regulatory requirements and the importance of material compatibility and advanced analytical testing. All of these factors must come into play when choosing the right material to produce effective elastomer components for food and beverage machinery, they emphasized during their Beyond a Spec: Choosing the Right Sealing Materials for Food and Beverage Applications webinar.“Today’s global industry means engineering for multiple markets and diverse regulatory compliance standards, which can be challenging and expensive, so it must be considered early,” said Clark. “Simply meeting a product specification does not ensure a seal will function."
- 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.
- August 30, 2018
Gallagher Fluid Seals is a long-time partner of Freudenberg Sealing Technologies. From their classic Simmerring® radial shaft seal, to V-rings, to guide rings, to u-cups, Freudenberg is an innovative seal manufacturer that solves problems. Check out the video below to see the many sealing elements developed for machine tools, specifically hammer drills and demolition hammers.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uayo9ZfzpU0[/embed]
Overcoming the toughest resistance with full penetrating power, whether against concrete or stone: hammer drills and demolition hammers literally have a huge impact. Sealing solutions and rubber molded parts from Freudenberg Sealing Technologies are meanwhile essential to them. They robustly and reliably guarantee the machine’s power output and a long lifetime of drilling, chiseling, demolishing
- May 17, 2018
One of the greatest challenges of the 21st century is the conversion to a resource-conserving, sustainable economy. With this in mind, Freudenberg Sealing Technologies is offering customers its FluoroXprene® family of materials to help contribute to this transformation. Originally developed for use in fuel lines, these materials have the potential for use in new, challenging applications thanks to their outstanding characteristics.
FluoroXprene was developed to reduce the permeation of fuel vapors through the walls of fuel lines. This permeation makes a notable contribution to a vehicle’s hazardous emissions. But it is often overlooked when considering total emissions. FluoroXprene reduces the escape of fuel vapors through the walls of fuel hoses into the atmosphere, slashing them to a fraction of their usual amounts. And this is not just the case for standard fuels – alternative plant-based fuels such as E10 and E85 are also securely contained by FluoroXprene materials.
- April 17, 2018
Freudenberg Sealing Technologies has developed a new sealing system for Atlas Copco, the leading global producer of rock drills. The system has made it possible to double the maintenance intervals for a new generation of machines used in harsh underground conditions.
The drill bit strikes the surface of the stone with a force of 25 tons up to 140 times per second. Its task: to drill 80 holes where explosive charges are inserted. They blast away rock for supply tunnels for underground mining or for road construction. The drill bits are driven by rock drills. Two factors are decisive in keeping operating costs low: On one hand, the holes must be drilled very quickly, even in hard stone such as granite, which requires very powerful forces. On the other hand, despite the strong forces, maintenance intervals are supposed to increase. With the development of its new machine, the COP MD20, Atlas Copco has resolved its conflicting objectives: Without a reduction in the machinery’s rate of advance, the company was able to double its maintenance intervals.
A new sealing system from Freudenberg Sealing Technologies was the key component in accomplishing this, as the metallic components, especially the piston that drives the drill bit, had been previously optimized by using special high-strength alloys. But the forces that are produced, especially during the bit’s recoil, are so high that they severely stress the seals in this high-pressure hydraulic system. If the seals develop wear, the result can be leakage, which has a highly negative effect on the relationship between the applied energy and the boring power – in other words, the system efficiency declines.
- March 08, 2018
Article first appeared in Power Transmission Engineering blog on November 14, 2017.
Freudenberg Examines Sealing Requirements for Heavy-Duty Equipment
The seals and the hydraulic systems of any piece of mining, construction, agricultural or other heavy industry equipment operate under extreme conditions. Variable temperatures, aggressive hydraulic oils, dust and extended periods of operation place seals and their tribological systems under continuous duress. A new generation of material, 94 AU 30000, expands the boundaries for polyurethane use. This innovative compound can be used in standard cylinder applications where higher pressures, larger extrusion gaps, reduced internal friction, improved hydrolysis resistance and compatibility with bio fluids, among other factors, are important. DMRW2 hydraulic wipers made from 94 AU 30000 and sheet metal and the availability of this polyurethane as part of Freudenberg Sealing Technologies’ Xpress rapid replacement part service are applications discussed in the following article.
Today’s extreme environmental climates place extreme demands on the material and structure of the hydraulic seals used to maintain the performance and operation of heavy-duty equipment. The excavators, tractors, backhoes and tunnel boring machines that grind through the earth every day must work harder, longer, cleaner and more cost efficiently than ever to feed the plant, build its infrastructure and harvest its natural resources.
Sealing requirements for these machines must now include high values for tensile strength and elongation at break, resistance to oils and ozone, high elasticity and abrasion resistance. Polyurethane materials (PU) have traditionally met these industrial requirements. In comparison with elastomers, PU has a four times greater capacity for mechanical resistance, as well as outstanding resistance to ozone. At the same time, it stands up well to the stresses of mineral-based fluids.