What are the Uses of Oil Seals?

Oil seals are also known as dirt, fluid, or grease seals.  The main function of this tool is to close the spaces between the moving and stationary components of any mechanical equipment.  Seals help in preventing the escape of lubricants. 

This tool stops any harmful contaminants to enter the machinery particularly in extreme environments. This tool plays a vital role for a successful vehicle operation and proper functioning of every kind of machine.  It help protects all kinds of precision-constructed, roller, sleeve, and close-fitting ball bearings. 

For precision bearings, seals help in preventing lubricants from running away from the bearings or spilling off in a specific area.  For machine components, this tool helps in preventing the occurrence of corrosive moisture, abrasives and stops any harmful contaminants to enter the machine.  Seals also help in preventing intermixture of two kinds of medium like water and lubricating oil.

Thus, it is very important to choose the right kind of seal for your machine.  Choosing the best manufacturer or supplier is essential in finding a precise sealing design.  It is important to note that grease seal must match to the aftermarket applications or original equipment. 

This is to ensure that your machine will have a reliable and consistent performance.  Oil and grease seals are used in almost all kinds of machineries and it is used in wide array of applications.  Seals are used in power transmission, oil refineries, off-highway, manufacturing, and automotive applications. 

In a standard application, dirt seal is usually installed adjacent to the bearing.  It is either sealed in or sealed out as required by the machinery depending on the varying kinds of solid, gases, or liquids that come across a particular mechanism.  Thus, it is important to note that before selecting the lip material or sealing element, you should determine first the operating environment of the oil seal.

By doing so, you can be assured that you can have the right type of seal for the specific function and or mechanism. Fluid seals are also made from various compounds and materials.  It can either be made from PTFE, tetrafluoro-ethylene propylene, fluoro-elastomer, silicone, polyacrylic or ethylene-acrylic, polyacrylate, nitrile, urethane, leather, and felt compounds.  

Industrial type of seals is also available in varying sizes such as some are small-bore from zero to 13 inches.  There are also high-temperature and metric varieties of grease seals.  Thus, it is important to have a precise sealing design that is matched with the original equipment so you can have a consistent, accurate and reliable operation.

Written By: Aileen R. Billones, Marketing Executive, Macina LLC