The seals you choose for your hydraulic-pneumatic applications will need to provide several benefits, one of the greatest being high level durability. When performing maintenance on your hydraulic-pneumatic machinery, making sure you replace seals with ones you know will withstand the high pressure environment of your pneumatic operation is essential for production to progress smoothly and quickly. Check out some of the attributes you should keep in mind when considering the proper seals for your pneumatic applications.

Sealing Conformity Capability Is Vital

The rods or pistons in a hydraulic cylinder regularly experience high pressure, a necessity for performance. The seals you use will need to be capable of conforming to the rod or piston surfaces for providing extrusion benefits for keeping hydraulic fluids in place. When seals do not provide effective sealing on a microscopic level, you could see leaks that will shut down operation of the machine, causing your production to experience costly down time. Bear in mind the seals used must provide resistance to gap changes that take place when side loads change because adherence to mating surfaces is absolutely vital to the prevention of damaging, expensive leaks. 

Seal Material Matters To Your Application                 

The seals you use in your hydraulic-pneumatic machinery should provide high tensile elasticity, resistance to tears and abrasion and self-lubrication. High resistance to abrasion and tears is essential for the seals used in high pressure applications like those in pneumatic machines supported by hydraulics. Some manufacturers produce compounds like enhanced polyurethane that provide these benefits. These same attributes should also be considered for the seals you might choose to back up rings made from brass or other metals. Remember the metal rings are not designed to also provide protection of plastic seals.  

Consider High Temperature Resistance

In most hydraulic-pneumatic applications, high temperatures are usually an aspect to think about when considering seal choices. Making certain the seals you choose will withstand the heat is important for them to maintain their attributes, especially when it comes to preventing costly leaks. Compound materials used to make plastic seals are manufactured to resist high temperatures.

When you break down a hydraulic-pneumatic machine for maintenance, you want to make sure you replace seals that will not increase that down time later on. Machine maintenance can be reduced to profitable time limits, especially when you know the replacement parts you use are high quality and made to last. Contact an industrial equipment supplier like Seal Pneumatics to learn more about the seals that will reduce your risk of down time and increase your profits.