Oil seals keep agricultural machinery running

SKF has developed a new generation of oil and grease seals specifically for agricultural and similar machinery, where harsh environmental and operating conditions exist

SKF has developed a new generation of oil and grease seals specifically for heavy-duty applications.

Called Mud Block, these seals are intended for use in agricultural and similar machinery, where harsh environmental and operating conditions exist.

Tractor design is one area which has demanded the development of improved sealing technology for oil and grease seals for transmission components.

The seals need to be able to perform in all types of environment, regardless of the application.

Mud Block seals were created by SKF Seals Division at RFT in Villanova d'Asti, Italy.

The new generation of these seals is designed to perform to a uniform level, regardless of whether a tractor is used for light duties or in exceptionally demanding conditions, such as in the rice fields of India.

Traditional seal designs consist of a radial lip (with or without hydrodynamic features), a garter spring and a static seal between the outside diameter and the housing.

The new Mud Block seals provide improved protection as a result of the design of their lips.

Often, the failure of a seal in transmission is due to water and mud ingress at the radial lip.

In the Mud Block series, the geometry of the seal design has been altered to provide the optimum protection against water and mud ingress at this point.

The new design offers a number of standard features, including a stop bumper between the sleeve and seal that facilitates assembly and ensures correct position of the axial lip.

The outer surfaces of the seal and the inner diameter of the sleeve are rubberised to provide excellent corrosion protection.

The inner lips are also pre-lubricated with highly water-resistant transmission grease.

Consequently, this offers better reliability during assembly and replacement in the field and eliminates the need to carry out shaft machining.

The seals are tailored to individual customer's requirements for assembly.

Full rubber outside diameter designs can be provided, with or without a flange, and the outside diameter can be fabricated half in rubber and half in metal.

The inner radial lip can be varied to offer oil or grease sealing, such as a standard lip design, with garter spring for oil sealing, and several radial lips fabricated in rubber for grease sealing.

Mud blocks can be fabricated in a variety of elastomer materials, depending upon the component applications and their particular operating conditions.

The range of materials includes nitrile, polyacrylate and fluorinated elastomeric compounds.

Seals are required on non-driving wheel hubs that usually operate at low speeds, as well as on pinions which experience high revolutions and high temperatures.

The performance of the Mud Block series has been confirmed in both laboratory testing at RFT in Italy and in field tests carried out in collaboration with key customers.

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