As an alternative to conventional shaft seals with metal support parts, KACO also offers sealing systems in which plastic is used as the carrier part. This offers advantages in applications with high corrosion protection requirements, potential for reducing weight and new design options for the complete system.
Already since many years there is a wide range of radial shaft sealing systems. In most cases, metallic support parts are used as standard, which is often the right choice from a cost-benefit point of view. Nevertheless, increasing corrosion protection requirements offer the possibility of breaking new ground from a technical and economic perspective. In this context, KACO has developed a two-component rotary shaft seal in which a plastic support part is used instead of a metal support part. This enables costly coating systems or the use of stainless steel to be dispensed with. In addition, the use of plastic as a support part offers different design possibilities than conventional designs with a metallic support part. In the course of development, the materials were matched to each other in such a way that service life conditions of common specifications of the powertrain and other applications can be realized.
Component testing
The expansion of the product range at KACO has gone hand in hand with the expansion of the global test field and simulation on the digital twin. Numerous tests with the two-component shaft seals prove their robustness under the required operating conditions. As a result, the sealing expert’s customers can rely as usual on KACO to respond to their needs from design and simulation to the creation of prototypes and the validation tests that have to be carried out with them, right through to the start of series production, and to support them as a competent partner.
“The substitution of cast and metal components with plastics has long been a topic in our industry. The focus here is usually on functional integration as well as cost and weight savings. With regard to relatively inexpensive support parts of dynamic seals, it is now becoming apparent that, with a suitable combination of materials, striking advantages for function and overall costs can also be achieved here. Our consistent material and process development has resulted in a product that meets the highest corrosion protection requirements both technically and economically. We are also convinced that new fields of application can be opened up on the basis of the technology developed,” says Andreas Genesius, Vice President Engineering.
KACO GmbH + Co KG, a subsidiary of the Zhongding Group, is one of the world’s leading developers and manufacturers of high-precision, application-oriented sealing solutions for the automotive and engineering industries. The company, which is based in Germany, is characterized by the highest sealing quality and innovative strength and stands for recognized development and manufacturing expertise. KACO has six plants in Germany, Austria, Hungary, China and the USA and delivers its products all over the world. As a close partner of the automotive industry and its suppliers, the company has been keeping pace with the high demands and technical changes in the industry for decades.
(The data and values listed here were determined under model and laboratory conditions. They do not represent assured properties, guarantees or warranties. The validation of the products in the respective application, their performance and their suitability for a specific purpose is in the responsibility of the user.)
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