When a standard seal simply won't do
March 1st 2007 Responding to a growing demand for high performance seals, Blue Diamond can design and manufacture a wide range of specialist seals to meet individual requirements for applications where a standard seal simply won't do. Using powerful software CAD and Parametrics packages, Blue Diamond will custom engineer a seal with the right characteristics for almost any application, taking into account factors like dimensional restraints, operating environment, life expectancy and exposure to aggressive oils, greases and chemicals. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) software is used to analyse the stresses in the seam to ensure it has sufficient mechanical strength and the program can even simulate the effects of wear in a virtual environment. This attention to detail allows individual seals to be carefully optimised to take account of the demands of each application. By changing different elements of the design, the application engineer can then achieve the optimum result. For example, the material, lip interference and spring loads can all be instantly varied and their effect on the performance of the seal observed. When the engineers are satisfied with the performance of the seal using the computer simulation, samples can be manufactured and the seal characteristics confirmed using Blue Diamond's extensive in house test and development facility. More articles from Blue Diamond Technologies Ltd: | 
