Article re-posted with permission from Parker Hannifin Sealing & Shielding Team.
Original content can be found on Parker’s Blog.

Solving Long Time Industry Problem

For several years, one of the biggest drawbacks of “chemically resistant” FFKMs, or perfluoroelastomers, has been their relatively poor compression set resistance. Typically, compounding these materials to be extremely resistant to many different chemical environments comes with the drawback of having to give up their ability to resist taking a set after being under high temperatures for an extended period. Parker's solution to this industry challenge is ULTRA FF156.

Best in class compression set resistance

Compression set refers to a common failure mode of elastomers where a seal permanently flattens out while in application and the joint begins to leak. A material's resistance to this permanent deformation can be easily tested in the lab. To do so, a seal’s thickness is measured, then that seal is compressed about 25% before being heated in an oven at a particular temperature for a predetermined amount of time. That seal is then removed from the oven and the thickness is remeasured.

The face seal design chart below explains the hardware dimensions to use for an O-ring seal when the groove is cut into a flat surface.

Systems Which Contain Internal Pressure

For designing systems which contain internal pressure, like the example below, the groove's outside diameter (OD) is primary, and the groove's width then determines the inside diameter.

Light-weight, robust polymer springs are replacing steel coil springs in a range of energy management applications including track tensioners for light-duty mobile equipment such as skid loaders.

With safety as Priority #1, use of polymer springs eliminates a potential source of injury and safeguards workers during equipment assembly and installation. Polymer springs are much safer to install compared to steel coil springs because their lowered stored energy reduces the risk of injury and damage due to uncontrolled release.

Product Features:

• Safer. Lower stored energy vs. steel coil spring reduces risk of uncontrolled release
• Smaller. For a given spring force, up to 75% reduction in space allows simple fixturing and assembly
• Lighter. Up to 90% reduction in weight for a given spring force gives  equipment designers more degrees of freedom in weight distribution

Extrusion and nibbling of the O-ring is a primary cause of seal failure in dynamic applications such as hydraulic rod and piston seals. This form of failure may also be found from time to time in static applications subject to high pressure pulsing which causes the clearance gap of the mating flanges to open and close, trapping the O-ring between the mating surfaces.

Watch the video below from Parker's O-Ring eHandbook, showing how extrusion & nibbling can happen.

Article re-posted with permission from Parker Hannifin Sealing & Shielding Team.  Original content can be found on Parker’s Blog.

A common question fielded by Parker O-ring Application Engineers is “will a (insert polymer family) O-ring work with (insert chemical mixture).” Not a day goes by where I do not field this question in some way, shape, or form. Which, honestly, makes perfect sense, because chemical compatibility is one of the two most important factors in designing a seal, the other being size. Choosing the right compound can literally make or break your seal and to the general designer, this can be a massive undertaking. There are so many rubber compound families out there and hundreds and hundreds of chemicals, so how can you know whether your seal is going to hold up? Well, today, I hope to give you a simple, and quantitative way to figure that out.

Article re-posted with permission from Parker Hannifin Sealing & Shielding Team.  Original content can be found on Parker’s Blog.

This video provides instructions on how to properly install and uninstall a Parker TechSeal's hollow O-ring. Although appearing simple, the installation process of a hollow O-ring

The Engineered Polymer Systems Division of Parker Hannifin Corporation, the global leader in motion and control technologies, has launched a new material, Resilon® 4350 Polyurethane, delivering unmatched high temperature seal performance and reliability for a wide range of applications. This new material extends the high temperature sealing range of polyurethanes by over 20°F.

Parker’s Resilon Polyurethane is the established industry leader in high performance hydraulic sealing systems.  This newest addition, Resilon 4350, increases the high temperature operating window from 230°F to 250°F for continuous use in many applications while other critical performance attributes such as wear resistance, extrusion resistance, glass transition temperature, and rebound remain best in class.   All of this adds up to a new solution for seal designers as they push the envelope in temperature extremes.

Article re-posted with permission from Parker Hannifin Sealing & Shielding Team.  Original content can be found on Parker’s Blog.

Dovetail grooves are a great mechanism for holding O-rings in place.

Gallagher has long been a top Parker Distributor.  The Parker TechSeal Division designs and manufactures custom elastomer products using extrusion, precision cutting, and fabricating technologies. The extruded rubber products can be supplied in multiple forms such as cut parts, long lengths, bulk footage, or fabricated gaskets and seals. The video below provides an insight into TechSeal's day to day operation including manufacturing, material development, and design assistance.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmBC3Hbnpjc[/embed]

Article re-posted with permission from Parker Hannifin Sealing & Shielding Team.  Original content can be found on Parker’s Blog.

This is the third in a series of video blog posts showing viewers how to install an O-ring.

In December, we discussed how to install an O-ring on a face seal gland and in January we showed you how to install an O-Ring in a standard female gland.  In today's post, we'll look at the best way to install an O-ring on a standard male gland.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcJBVQvTvhw[/embed]

Typically when installing an O-ring into a standard male gland, the process is pretty straight forward. Guide the O-ring along the shaft until you reach the gland to where it snaps in place. Sounds simple enough, but here's some tips on exactly what to do, and not to do.