Innovations for the Process Industry

They have already demonstrated their comprehensive know-how in this field with their product line for hygienic plants in the process industry. The joint development work has resulted in three food-approved seals: the Hygienic Pressure Seal made of Quantum® PTFE F18245 and 85 EPDM 302 in two sizes, a hygienic radial seal made of 85 EPDM 302 and a static seal in which two O-rings made of 85 EPDM 302 are combined to form a sealing element. With a tailored hygienic design, all three seals offer high temperature resistance from +5 °C to +140 °C, pressure resistance from 0 to 10 bar and a long service life. The premium quality materials used have received the relevant approvals and were subjected to the conformity tests according to EG (Reg.) 1935/2004, EU (Reg.) 10/2011, FDA and 3-A® Sanitary Standards.

Test bench trials and FEM calculations

This joint development project shows that customized sealing solutions can also be developed in a timely and cost-effective manner: As a basis for further development steps, the team of experts at first tested three of the new hydraulic process valves on Freudenberg’s in-house test bench. This enabled the necessary design adjustments for optimal service life to be identified and minor changes affecting installation and geometry to be implemented directly. The sample seals for the various test bench trials were produced without any need for tools and thus with considerable cost and time benefits. This is made possible by the Freudenberg Xpress® service, which offers machined seals made from original materials and original profiles for prototypes, spare parts or economical small series. Special machining and milling techniques enable individual designs to be realized precisely. In addition, FEM calculations were carried out to obtain meaningful values about the expected service life of the new seals.