How Shaft Seals Are Used In The Manufacturing Process

Even if you do not work in the processing field, shaft seals can have an indirect effect on your life in one way or another. Since many of the items we eat, drink, wear or drive are manufactured by machine, these seals are a critical element to keeping these machines at their peak performance.

Simply stated, a shaft seal is a part that was developed to prevent leakage from occurring around a rotary, axial and any other shaft that exists on a wide range of machinery.

While the concept of the shaft seal may seem simple, the task they perform is essential to the production process as far as any manufacturing company is concerned. Their purpose is to prevent leaks, decrease the amount of un-needed friction as well as decrease the amount of maintenance as well as downtime than a company's machines will require. While the seals that may be required can be as unique as the machine itself, some of the most common seals are radial, rotary and marine just to name a few.

A radial shaft seal is used to seal the rotary element of a machine, such as the shaft itself or the rotating bore. Some of the most common examples of these seals are drive shaft, gear box, grease, crankshaft, hydraulic, axel and reciprocating motion just to name a few. The seal is usually placed between the rotating and non-rotating components of a machine and helps to cut down on unneeded wear and tear on moving metal.

Rotary shaft seals work a little bit differently. Their primary function is to retain bearing lubricant while enhancing and extending the life of the bearing itself by protecting it from damage or premature failure. Both are commonly caused by dirt, oil or water that gets into the unit and prevents the device from rotating as designed.

Standard seals are made for rotating or oscillating shafts, rods or bores while specially designed seals also available for special applications like dry run, high pressure, low friction, high temperature, or shaft misalignment, making this type of seal quite useful for a variety of different applications. Pump shaft seals are also commonly classified as a rotary seal.

While most of our discussion has been around shaft seals for manufacturing, shaft seals have recently been developed for marine applications. A marine shaft seal is actually a double faced seal that is commonly applied to rudder posts or hull penetrations for any rotating shaft on watercraft. This style of seal helps the mechanics to tolerate a large amount of shaft run out or even angular misalignment, allowing everything to run leak free even if the bearings have begun to fail.

While we have not gone into great detail about the makeup of these seals, you are now well aware of how critical they are to the functionality of nearly every manufacturing machine in existence. Without them, it is a safe bet that the products we use and the way we live our lives would be much different than they are today.