SKF has recently launched a new range of hydraulic seals to meet the hydraulic cylinders industry's needs for improved performance. By consolidating the product offers from SKF and from the acquired companies Economos and Polyseal, SKF can now present a fully consistent range and catalogue of hydraulic seals, for both OEMs and the aftermarket, and in metric and imperial units.

In addition, SKF has added four completely new products to the range as well. For the first time, SKF can supply a complete system solution, with all types of seals, to meet customers' demand for system solutions.

"This complete range of hydraulic seals enables SKF to support our global OE customers with a wider choice of solutions. Combined with the SEAL JET system for rapid production of machined hydraulic seals and our strength in problem-solving customized solutions, we can help in the full life cycle management of the customers' hydraulic cylinder applications." says Danny Zitting, Product manager, SKF Industrial Fluid System Seals.

The launch introduces several new products in the range, such as the "S1S" polyurethane U-cup for heavy duty rod sealing systems and three new styles of polyurethane piston seals. SKF developed a new grade of SKF ECOPUR? polyurethane material in conjunction with the new product designs. The material was improved for seal function in heavy duty applications with high system pressure and temperature.

The new complete SKF hydraulic seals range includes thousands of standard articles from more than forty different designs of rod seals, piston seals, wipers, static seals and guide rings, plus a broad range of design and material choices for tailor-made solutions.

The hydraulic sealing solutions provide designers with the complete sealing and guiding system to develop a wide variety of hydraulic cylinders. The system approach, including SKF knowledge and guidance for system design and specification, enables hydraulic cylinder producers to improve system performance for the different challenging environments that hydraulic cylinders face. The new solution can also serve existing applications with replacement parts.

The design and development of material, product and process, combined with testing and failure analysis, are vital elements for successful seal development and good performance. SKF combines these elements with its expertise in various applications, to offer solutions that are based on an understanding of sealing systems under real conditions.