freudenberg
- May 12, 2026
The Future of Seals: Identifying and Communicating Levels of Wear
Seals do their jobs tirelessly, usually behind the scenes. Until now, machines mostly had to be dismantled to check the condition of these parts. That’s expected to change: At Freudenberg Sealing Technologies, a cross-disciplinary team is testing seals that identify and communicate their level of wear. They are based on a novel material that functions as a sensor.
It’s time for maintenance at a beverage bottling facility.
- April 16, 2026
The Perfect Wave: The Gerromatic Rotary Seal
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.
- February 16, 2026
Diaphragms Designed to Precisely Fit Different Gas Meter Designs
In the safety-driven natural gas industry, system leaks are a dangerous and costly issue. Residential gas meters and regulators, in particular, are at risk when crucial components such as diaphragms are not optimally designed and manufactured for the environment in which they will work.
An advanced polymer technology, trademarked by Freudenberg Sealing Technologies’ Metflex Precision Moulding organization, addresses these challenges with fiber-reinforced materials that improve the reliability, functionality and longevity of critical gas system components. Diaphragms made using Metflex Dispersed Fibre Technology (DFT)™ offer better sealing performance, longer flex life, improved low temperature resilience and enhanced design capabilities than standard diaphragms made from fabric coated polymers. To date, more than 40 million DFT diaphragms have been used in medium and low-pressure application, primarily in North America but also in other regions of the world.
Safety concerns and costs associated with gas leaks and equipment failures
- January 08, 2026
Sealing 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.
- October 08, 2025
Smarter Seals for 2025: From Passive Barrier to Predictive Asset
Seals have long served a quiet but vital role in food and process industries: keeping contaminants out and media in. But in today’s era of Industry 4.0 and advancing material science, seals are evolving from passive components into information-rich devices. What once was a radical idea is now entering validation and early deployment phases—and the benefits extend well beyond reliability.
When this article was first written, the concept of a “smart seal” capable of self-monitoring was largely speculative. Since then, Freudenberg Sealing Technologies and others have advanced this concept significantly:
- In 2023, Freudenberg published a feasibility study confirming that a rod seal equipped with conductive and insulating elastomer layers can behave as a capacitive sensor: as wear thins the insulating layer, capacitance changes, which can be correlated to remaining service life.
- Their tests validated performance in aqueous and dry environments, confirming that the sensor function does not compromise sealing integrity.
- Freudenberg also explored applying the same principle to PTFE-based seals used under harsher conditions.
- Meanwhile, Freudenberg is pushing forward in other areas: in 2025 they introduced a pressure seal developed entirely via simulation-based methods, accelerating design cycles and optimizing geometry.
- At Drinktec 2025, Freudenberg revealed new, more sustainable and hygienic clamps and sealing systems (e.g. re-usable support rings, SmartChange clamping) and introduced novel high-performance materials like “75 HNBR 641” compatible with hygienic standards.
These developments show the shift from concept to concrete application. The idea of self-diagnosing, sensor-enabled seals is no longer just theory—it’s becoming a real option, at least in select use cases.
Predictive Maintenance, Not Just Reactive Repair
The real payoff of smart seals lies in predictive maintenance (PdM). Rather than replacing seals on a fixed schedule—or waiting until a leak occurs—operators can act when data indicate real wear thresholds. Some key advantages:
- Optimize lifetime: Use seals until just before failure risk, without premature replacement
- Reduce leakage risk: Avoided contamination, lost product, and equipment damage
- Better scheduling: Maintenance windows can be planned rather than reactive
- Data integration: Wear signals feed into overall equipment health (OEE, reliability) dashboards
In food processing specifically, AI-powered PdM tools are already using vibration, pressure, and flow signatures to detect early signs of seal degradation—even before visible anomalies arise. When a seal itself provides direct wear data, that signal becomes a strong addition to the system’s asset intelligence.
- September 09, 2025
An Entire Solution in a Single Package
Freudenberg takes the customer out of the complex, tedious process of selection, adjustment and modification, providing integral sealing systems. The company has developed so-called ‘application cards’ that specific dedicated sealing systems for selected market segments and their applications. Here FST has gone beyond what is normal among its competitors. It doesn’t merely provide a fraction of all the components needed for hydraulic cylinders – it delivers all of them, from piston guides and seals, to primary and secondary rod seals, all the way to rod guides and wipers – and considers all their interactions in the process. As a result, a specialized knowledge of individual sealing elements is no longer needed.
- February 27, 2024
Freudenberg Energy Saving Seal (ESS)
Thanks to the combination of elastomers capable of withstanding extraordinarily high thermal loads and a friction-optimized sealing lip, the energy-saving seal (ESS) enables the power loss in drive assemblies to be greatly reduced.
The radial shaft seal ESS improves sealing performance by reducing friction between the seal lip and crankshaft through a reduction in radial load of 50% when compared to sprung rubber lip seals and 75% when compared to
- May 26, 2023
Freudenberg Simmerring - Maximum Performance Under Extreme Pressure: B2PT
The Freudenberg Simmerring has been a successful product for about nearly 90 years. It seals rotating shafts reliably, and is used in millions of applications and machines in many industries. The Simmerring is flexible, highly loadable, and very dependable. Freudenberg Sealing Technologies has now further developed Simmerrings for use in the process industry – and they are made of food-grade materials.
- August 19, 2020
Strict hygiene regulations in the food industry present major challenges for sealing technology. Freudenberg Sealing Technologies is enhancing its proven portfolio of hygienic sealing solutions with two products that are also designed for high-pressure applications. This was made possible thanks to special design solutions and the premium elastomer and PTFE materials developed in-house.
Food processing demands strict hygiene and cleanliness standards. It’s also important to ensure that no substances can migrate from the materials coming in contact with food, which could lead to contamination of the product. With its hygienic product line, Freudenberg Sealing Technologies has developed sealing solutions that fulfill food industry standards and are also resistant to CIP/SIP media. The Hygienic Forseal and Hygienic Pressure Seal are the newest members of this innovative product family.
One of the basic requirements for sealing solutions in accordance with the hygienic design standards is a dead-space-free construction. It prevents the collection and settling of product residues and micro-organisms in undercuts, for example. The selection of applied materials and their resistance to hot water, steam, acids, alkalis and high pressures are also relevant. Observing the deformation at the relevant temperature plays a particularly important role in detecting distortions and the associated formation of dead spaces at an early stage in the product development.
- July 01, 2020
Valves are indispensable components in the hygienically sensitive systems used in the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries. Until now, there were no high-pressure valves available for food-product contact applications that conformed to 3-A® standards. These global hygiene standards address the design and manufacturing of components that come into contact with food.
Bardiani Valvole approached Gallagher's partner, Freudenberg Sealing Technologies, for help in developing a solution to tap into its material expertise. As a result of joint cooperation, Freudenberg engineers developed a main rod seal that was both 3-A® compliant and capable of handling high-pressure of up to 2175 psi (150 bar) that the customer’s valve required. The main rod seal incorporates proven Freudenberg technology with advanced component design in an entirely new combination that is also compatible with other industrial high-pressure valves.
Prototypes produced without any tools
The 3-A® compliant main rod seal combines a sealing lip, manufactured from EPDM 302 or Fluoroprene® XP 43, with a backup ring made of PTFE. Freudenberg’s product engineers were inspired by the design of a proven shaft seal and an O-ring with a backup ring. In order to meet development and cost deadlines, the team initially produced one-off prototypes to share with Bardiani Valvole using the unique capabilities of Freudenberg Xpress®, a fast turnaround, high-quality manufacturing service that can generate custom seals in as little as a day. It offers machined seals made of original materials and original profiles for prototypes, spare parts or economical small series.
By eliminating the need to set up manufacturing tooling to produce sample parts, this results in considerable cost and time advantages for the customer. Thanks to special turning and milling techniques, individual designs can be tuned to exact specifications. The tailor-made sealing solution for the new high-pressure valve could also be produced economically in an extremely short time. The Freudenberg Xpress® Service is represented at numerous Freudenberg sites worldwide, enabling rapid delivery of spare parts, for example.
The seal’s design is free of dead space and prevents residue infiltration from process and cleaning media. It is hygienic, easier to clean, and compliant with all relevant material specifications for food, beverage, and pharmaceutical industry applications. Both materials used have very good thermal resistance and excellent mechanical properties. They also meet the demanding requirements for use in Cleaning in Place and Sterilization in Place (CIP/SIP) processes.
