Seal extends maintenance cycles by 40%
A
Precision Polymer Engineering product story
Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team
Aug 12, 2003
Using Perlast perfluoroelastomer seals, one of the world's leading manufacturers of ultra-high-vacuum components has achieved a 40% productivity increase for its new range of actuators and manipulator
Using Perlast perfluoroelastomer seals, one of the world's leading manufacturers of ultra-high-vacuum components has achieved a 40% productivity increase for its new range of actuators and manipulators.
Thermo Vacuum Generators has extended the routine replacement of seals from every 500,000 cycles to every 700,000 cycles.
Seals are an essential component of the gate valves manufactured by Thermo Vacuum Generators, where they are required to maintain vacuum integrity and prevent the release of hazardous chemicals.
The company was looking for a rotary seal for a gate valve actuator commonly exposed to process temperatures of 150C that could be replaced every 500,000 cycles.
Thermo Vacuum Generators attempted to use a well-known brand of perfluoroelastomer but found that it soon took a permanent set and began wearing very quickly to the point where it failed after only 30,000 valve operations.
A Perlast perfluoroelastomer G71H seal, on the other hand, achieved over 700,000 operations.
"It's vital that our gate valve seals are effective and long lasting given that some of our customers will be using very corrosive compounds in their process systems.
Perlast has shown it can not only meet our requirements but exceed them by a substantial margin", says Peter Verrall, Technical Manager, Thermo Vacuum Generators.
Perlast seals are manufactured by high-performance seals specialist Precision Polymer Engineering.
Thermo Vacuum Generators wanted to replace its existing seal supplier with a UK company who could also vulcanise perfluoroelastomer to create a bonded seal for use in valves and actuators.
"Until now we've had to wait for seals to come back from the United States before we can test them.
With PPE we're able to work more closely and quickly to design and test seals", explains Peter Verrall.
Typically the Thermo Vacuum Generators devices are used in semiconductor manufacture where they are exposed to highly corrosive fluorine- and chlorine-based gases.
Thermo Vacuum Generators is a subsidiary of the Thermo Electron Corp.
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