freudenberg
- 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.
- February 08, 2018
Clamp seals guarantee fast and extremely secure tube connections in machines that are operated continuously. They are especially easy to install and re-separate. At drinktec 2017, Freudenberg Sealing Technologies presented its newly developed clamp seals, which not only reliably seal tube connections in production facilities – they also eliminate the costly conversion of connections to a “hygiene flange,” in accordance with DIN 11864. Unwanted over-compression into the interior space is prevented, guaranteeing secure, hygienic tube connections.
- January 18, 2018
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.
- December 26, 2017
Freudenberg Sealing Technologies has introduced a new generation of polyurethane for seals that set new standards. Freudenberg's development of its own materials is an important core competency. The company has succeeded in manufacturing a basic material for seals with a far longer operating life than the polyurethane materials used so far.
Watch the video below to see how the seals of today are fulfilling the requirements of tomorrow.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXj324GeV3w[/embed]
- November 07, 2017
Small, nondescript and ostensibly unspectacular – it is often developments of this exact description that lead to groundbreaking innovations in the world of technology. The idea of manufacturing seal sleeves from leather scraps became the starting point in one of the most important developments in sealing technology: the Simmerring®. For 85 years, the Simmerring has been inseparable from the Freudenberg history of success, and, in Europe, its name has even become a synonym for (radial) shaft seal rings of every kind. Today the Simmerring is a high-tech product whose key functions go far beyond the sealing of the shaft against its housing.
It all started with the economic crisis of 1929, which plunged the leather industry and thus the Freudenberg tannery – which was founded in 1849 – into difficulties. To better distribute its risks in the future, Freudenberg began to diversify the company and serve a broader market. A sample of a leather sleeve from the United States was the inspiration for giving Walther Simmer and his team the job of developing a machine that could be used to produce lip seals made of leather scraps.
- October 12, 2017
Seals are increasingly being asked to do more than just seal. In the future, they should be able to forecast when they will break down and perform condition monitoring in real time – all on their own. As a technology specialist, Freudenberg Sealing Technologies is not just anticipating the steadily rising demands on seals but on future sealing materials as well. At Drinktec 2017 in Munich (Germany), the company presented a new generation of smart seals that is becoming possible for the food and process industries, thanks to a combination of various material characteristics.
Seals primarily consist of materials that cannot process signals in their pure form. That’s why Freudenberg Sealing Technologies’ material developers are investigating materials that seals can employ to become sensors or even actuators, for example, without impairing their original mission.