Case Study

Steel Mill Seals Surpass Unprecedented Milestone

Challenge

To develop a new ultra long-lasting seal kit for roll-change systems in steel mills that survive years of harsh conditions.

Solution

Engineers developed custom machined seal kits, each with two rod seals, a piston seal, wipers, excluders and a static seal – all with PTFE compounds.

Result

The very first seals that were installed in the OEM’s first-generation equipment more than a decade ago are performing well to this day, and they show few signs of wear.

More than a decade ago, a well-known global OEM introduced a new system to quickly change out work rolls in steel mills by seating the bearings hydraulically. It was a vast improvement over the labor-intensive screw-down method and offered considerable improvements in uptime. But for the system to be effective in the long term, it required a seal kit that would be reliable throughout years of harsh conditions.

Working closely with the OEM’s engineering team, System Seals developed a seal kit that included two rod seals, a piston seal, wipers, excluders and a static seal. To reduce friction under short-stroke, high-pressure conditions, System Seals chose PTFE compounds for all of the components and would custom machine each part for each individual application.

The OEM included the new seal kit with all of its new roll-change systems. Over time, the seals performed remarkably well, and surpassed their anticipated three-year lifespan. Throughout the past decade, the seal kits became standard in all of the hydraulic work-roll systems worldwide.

This year, the OEM notified System Seals to congratulate the company on a milestone it never expected. Some of the very first seals that were installed in the OEM’s first-generation roll-change systems more than 10 years ago well still performing well, and showed few signs of wear during a recent rebuild.

It was a testament to the design and build quality that sets System Seals apart from other seal companies, and a willingness to invest research and development time into moving each seal system to its greatest potential.

Julian Webster-Gigg

TEL 216-904-0956
EML julian@systemseals.de
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