Citation
(1998), "Low friction pneumatic seal", Industrial Lubrication and Tribology, Vol. 50 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/ilt.1998.01850aad.007
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 1998, MCB UP Limited
Low friction pneumatic seal
Low friction pneumatic seal
Five years in the development, Omega is the only free floating seal used in a pneumatic cylinder today. Its unique design means that, unlike conventionally sealed cylinders whose pairs of piston seals have four contact points, on the cylinder barrel and piston groove, the new seal has only two. This means that Omega does not have the double radial sealing constraints of the conventional cylinder, and is therefore able to operate with minimal friction to achieve very low pressure breakaways (just a few millibars), with perfect sealing, and without jerks or slip stick.
The free floating nature of the Omega seal and its reduced contact area also ensure high dynamic performance. Thanks to the minimal friction design, take-off is immediate and smooth, right up to the maximum cylinder velocity of 3m/sec.
Unique Omega seal provides 1mm/min low speed performance to match hydraulics
The laterally moving seal, its shape and dynamics give an air cushion effect which ensures that no overheating of the seal occurs, resulting in longer service life. As an example of this: a PES (pneumatic European standard) Omega cylinder with a 500mm stroke operating at one cycle per second, 12 hours per day, 245 days per year would have a service life of seven years, or 10,000km.
The new design extends the range of applications for pneumatic cylinders and means that in many low speed applications engineers can now employ the simplicity and the convenience of pneumatic actuation, and achieve considerable cost savings by not having to invest in hydraulic rams, pumps, valves, relief valveset al.
Low speed uses for the Omega equipped PES cylinders include sheet folding in the textile industry, indexing tasks, testing and tensioning applications. High speed tasks for the cylinders include: axes loading, parts transfer, valve opening and closing on solids handling, component ejection on conveyors.
For further information contact: David Share, Marketing Department, Asco-Joucomatic, 2 Pit Hey Place, Skelmersdale, Lancashire WN8 9PG. Tel: 01990 226699; Fax: 01990 550066.