Garlock has launched FLOOD-GARD Bearing Isolators for flooded applications. The patent-pending seal design provides bearing protection even in the most challenging flooded environments, extending the life of rotating equipment such as gearboxes, pumps, and motors.
“FLOOD-GARD™ allows Garlock to unlock value for our customers by taking industry leading bearing isolator technology, and advancing it even further, into a seal that excels in flooded conditions,” says Kevin Allison, Product Manager, KLOZURE®.
The latest addition to Garlock’s family of KLOZURE® Bearing Isolators, FLOOD-GARD™ is a revolutionary seal that combines improved safety and overall process efficiency with cost savings through
A well-known technique for increasing pump reliability is sealing the bearing housing with non-contacting bearing isolators rather than contact seals. Because contact seals use contact as their sealing method, they have a more limited life expectancy, since they can wear at the point of contact or groove the shaft. When this occurs, lubricant will escape to atmosphere and contaminants will enter the bearing housing, leading to bearing failure. Though more expensive, bearing isolators effectively retain lubricants and exclude contaminants while providing a virtually infinite life expectancy. This increases mean time
ISO-GARD bearing isolators offer exceptional bearing protection for pumps, motors, and bearing supported industrial equipment under the harshest conditions.
ISO-GARD products are constructed using a filled PTFE material which provides excellent chemical resistance.
Food - Poultry Processing
A diversified food processing company, with facilities located
throughout the US.
The customer had persistent problems with sealing the bearings in their non-metallic feather picker housings. Using standard lip seals, and with a monthly maintenance program, they still encountered frequent failures. With 72 assemblies (each with two sealing locations) this had a detrimental effect on manufacturing efficiency, and placed a significant burden on the maintenance teams.
Poultry feathers were getting under the lip seals and into the bearing housing, causing frequent and unexpected failures. Daily wash-downs also used a chemical cleaning solution that could also damage the bearings if not sealed correctly. Additionally, there was limited space available for any modification of sealing element.
Meat processing environments are highly regulated by the FDA, so any manufacturing changes must be carefully controlled. Therefore the customer required close support to ensure that any changes could be implemented with full confidence.
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.
Rotating equipment (pumps, motors, gearboxes) exposed to heavy wash down and/or zone 1 and 2 applications.
Since the opening of Orion Engineered Seals in 2011, their team has been working tirelessly to ensure they have the most innovative products available to increase the reliability of rotating equipment. Among their various product lines, it is their patented Bearing Protection Device (BPD) in its many design variations that separates them from their competition. In March of 2017, after a long yet rewarding process, they were issued a US PATENT for their robust and distinctly innovative Bearing Protection Device (BPD) technology. There is so much they could say about why their products stand above their competition, but today we're going to focus specifically on the team behind the BPD and why Orion has been so successful.
Todd Brickson, Director of Engineering has been working in manufacturing for over 25 years and is enjoying the fruits of his hard work. When designing the BPD device he had a few key points going through his mind.
The Orion Engineered Seals patented Bearing Protection Device (BPD) represents state of the art bearing protection technology which provides maximum protection against contaminants while maintaining lubrication in the bearing. It is the premier non-contacting bearing protection device on the market today.
The BPD was designed with an understanding of the nature of the bearing housing environment under all operating conditions and utilizes the laws of physics to create what has proven to be the best performing and most cost effective way to protect the bearings of your rotating equipment. Every feature of the BPD is designed to work together as a system.
Two Vertical Internal Chambers - The Orion BPD utilizes the laws of physics with the vertical alignment of the internal chambers to create the most effective and efficient bearing protection device on the market today.
Internal Static Elastomers - BPD is the only true non-contacting device with two internal static elastomers, eliminating the potential of dynamic o-ring hangup.
Contaminant Exclusion - With double exclusion chambers, the Orion BPD can exclude the higher volumes of contaminant, ensuring longer bearing life.
Angled Oil Return - With an angled oil return, the Orion BPD offers enhanced return flow and higher volume capacity with no oil leakage.
Angled Interface - While competing products offer a straight interface, the Orion BPD features an angled interface, giving the contaminant direction and flow to expel more efficiently.