Sealing relationships within the food and drink industry
Wherever there is a requirement for high performance sealing, increasingly it is the name of Race-Tec that comes to the fore. With a proven background in the design and manufacture of low friction rotary seals and compact high strength elastomeric components, Race-Tec, based in Hampshire, is applying its expertise to an increasingly diverse range of industrial applications.
Growing numbers of customers are coming to appreciate the cost and time savings to be reaped from specifying seals that will last longer and protect engineering components more effectively, under even under the most arduous operating conditions.
Whether it is a reduction in frictional power losses, resistance to extremes of temperature, pressure or vacuum retention, reductions in size and weight, Race-Tec Sealing has the ability to rapidly provide custom-made sealing solutions to meet the severest demands of arduous high performance applications.
For over 20 years Race-Tec Sealing has been expanding its knowledge and experience in the design, development and manufacture of high-performance sealing products.
Delivering bespoke seal designs for challenging applications where high performance, reduced size and weight saving are key has allowed Race-Tec to become an acknowledged leader in its field. Having initially developed its skills to meet demanding motorsport applications Race-Tec’s reputation for high performance under challenging conditions has seen other industrial sectors take notice. A host of new customers are asking Race-Tec if it can manufacture seals with alternative performance characteristics to meet the needs of entirely different applications.
A dedicated team of Technical Consultants, together with Design and Development Engineers, enables Race-Tec to work in partnership with its customers’ own design engineers, implementing a full design and development support service. Working in close cooperation, the Race-Tec design team is available to assist customers in optimising the design and performance of their seals to meet the ever-increasing demands of modern-day industry
As a result, the company has an expanding portfolio of products for sectors as diverse as aerospace, military, power generation, food processing and even high performance seals for domestic appliances including food processors.
Race-Tec is also an important supplier of pharmaceutical seals, where the mixing of powders results in an extremely aggressive environment for rotating seals. And the seals also have to run without lubrication to prevent contamination of the powder. The Race-Tec solution is a dynamically loaded, self-compensated rotary shaft seal that uses an integrated PTFE liner as the only interface with the shaft. This sealing lip design reduces surface wear and running friction while accommodating significant radial and angular misalignment.
The design of Race-Tec’s PTFE seals incorporates hybrid elastomer seal design allowing high surface speeds to be attained with significantly reduced power losses. Produced by forming and chemically bonding a layer of PTFE onto the seal lip, the hybrid seal retains the inherent flexibility of the elastomer and combines this with the low friction performance of PTFE.
This has proved a particular boon for many manufacturers, who find they are benefitting from reduced shaft and seal wear, a lengthening of service intervals, and potential savings in energy and replacement parts.
All Race-Tec products are designed and manufactured in-house in the UK where the company has invested heavily in FEA simulation and production technology. Using their non-linear FEA capability, Race-Tec can simulate new seal designs to optimise their performance and deliver the most efficient and effective sealing solutions. The company has recently invested in new compression moulding machinery to produce larger components.
All equipment is controlled using state-of-the-art technology, and maintained through planned preventative maintenance to assure continuation of supply. The company operates a BSI/ISO 9001:2015 quality management system to ensure that all products are given unique batch references, ensuring full batch traceability of manufactured products.
Whether the requirement is for a reduction in frictional power losses, resistance to pressure or vacuum retention, reductions in size and weight, Race-Tec has the ability to rapidly provide tailor made sealing solutions to meet the most challenging demands of industrial applications.
For further details, contact Race-Tec Sealing Ltd, Rolwey House, School Close,
Chandlers Ford Industrial Estate, Eastleigh, Hampshire SO53 4BY.
Tel: (023) 8024 6986 E-mail: technical@race-tec.com Website: www.race-tec.com
