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Tips on O-Rings and Seals

Here are some tips that may help you design o-rings and seals.

Tip on a mechanical shaft seal. With the evolution of sealing technology over the past few decades we are now able to use a mechanical shaft seal on just about any application that handles fluids. However, there are a number of factors to consider when designing this seal...

Tip on a mechanical seal. The start-up process for a pump can be a critical time when problems arise with the mechanical seal in it. The pump manufacturers do not necessarily give instructions on the right way to start the mechanical seal when the pump is turned on and the seal can actually be ruined if the proper procedures are not followed...

Tip on pneumatic seals. The term "pneumatic seals" actually describes a class of seals that are used in applications with either rotary or reciprocating motions. Pneumatic seals are exposed to air with a minimum amount of lubrication...

Tip on abrasion o-rings. Resistance, or abrasion, must be taken into consideration if you are designing o-rings for dynamic conditions. The rubbing and scraping of the o-rings will cause abrasion particularly if the moving parts actually contact the o-rings...

Extruded rubber seals. Through the manufacturing process, extruded rubber seals are made by forcing uncured rubber through a die while it is under heat and pressure. This uncured rubber is then heated to cause a chemical reaction which cures the rubber...

Low temperature seals. Designing low temperature seals requires careful consideration of the elastomer to be used. Silicones are often a good choice for low temperature seals. If you are using a fluid that attacks silicone, one of the fluorosilicones might work even better...

Chart to help choose oil seal materials...

Oil seal basics. In an oil seal environment there is a shaft that is rotating inside a housing or bore. Because of friction, there must be some clearance between the shaft and the bore. The function of the oil seal is to stop whatever fluid is inside from leaking out the clearance between the shaft and housing...

FEP/PFA encapsulated o-ring Part 1. An extremely low coefficient of friction makes the FEP/PFA encapsulated o-ring an ideal choice where surface wear might otherwise be a problem. By itself, the material FEP/PFA exhibits a useful service life from below -100° F, to temperatures of over 500° F...

FEP/PFA encapsulated o-ring Part 2. The inner core of the FEP/PFA encapsulated o-ring brings the advantages of the core elastomer to the seal. However, there are applications where one would not want to use this seal...

Neoprene o-ring. Sometimes it is hard to know which elastomer to choose for an application. Depending on the circumstances, neoprene can offer some definite advantages...

Comparison charts for the nitrile o-ring, carboxilated nitrile o-ring and highly saturated nitrile o-ring . Comparison of Nitrile, Carboxilated Nitrile and Highly Saturated Nitrile...

The lathe-cut o-ring offers many advantages. More and more people are turning to the lathe-cut o-ring as their choice for a power drive belt. The lathe-cut o-ring is inexpensive and offers many advantages. First of all, it is very easy to install...

Tip on acid o-rings. The resistance of elastomers to an acid changes according to the temperature and concentration of the solution. If you are looking for o-rings for a dilute acid at room temperature, an ethylene propylene compound is often a good choice...

Tip on hydraulic seals. The term "hydraulic seals" actually describes a class of seals that are used in applications with either rotary or reciprocating motions. Hydraulic seals are exposed to hydraulic fluids such as hydrocarbon and phosphate ester and are designed for high-pressure dynamic applications such as hydraulic cylinders...

Tip on a high temperature seal. If a seal is held at a high temperature for a period of time, the elastomer will deteriorate to some extent. In particular, the compression set and volume will change. The hardness of the high temperature seal changes in two stages...

Tip on choosing a rubber o-ring. O-rings are not made from natural rubber anymore, they are manufactured from specialized synthetic elastomers. What do you do if you are not a sealing expert and you want a plain old-fashioned black rubber o-ring that does not do anything fancy like resist ozone or take high pressure or last for a hundred years...

O-ring Sizes O-rings are available in standard sizes according to different industry standards. These sizes include the AS568, AS568 boss gasket sizes, JIS standard sizes, JASO standard sizes, AS871 and British Standard metric o-ring sizes...

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