Freudenberg Xpress, the company’s service for manufacturing replacement parts, prototypes and small production runs of seals, can produce large and small one-off components in as little as a day. Using a variety of advanced materials and manufacturing techniques, Freudenberg Xpress can provide industrial customers with fast, economical, tailor-made sealing solutions that do not compromise quality or safety standards.
During the IFPE show, Freudenberg Xpress showcased components made of some of the highest quality materials in the world. The company’s exclusive Freudenberg polyurethane, 94 AU 30000, for example, was developed primarily to handle fluid power challenges such as more aggressive environments, higher temperatures and longer operating hours.
94 AU 30000 is more resistant to water and synthetic hydraulic fluids and withstands major temperature fluctuations better than other existing polyurethane materials. The material offers excellent performance in heat and cold and can be used in mineral hydraulic fluids at temperatures ranging from -31 F (-35 C) up to 248 F (120 C).
Freudenberg’s new polyurethane also performs well under pressure, says Stefan Boeseneilers, Manager, Freudenberg Xpress, Americas. In comparison tests with various extrusion gaps and pressures, seals made with this material show no appreciable signs of wear while conventional seals malfunction prematurely. Tear strength surpasses other polyurethanes and the material doubles extrusion stability thus avoiding damage caused by the peaks in pressure commonly experienced in heavy-duty equipment.
“94 AU 30000 has multiple applications, and you can only get it from Freudenberg,” Boeseneilers says. “Fluid Power customers, in particular, will benefit from this material’s unique properties. Customers no longer need to buy many different materials to meet their sealing needs. We can meet their replacement and prototype needs quickly, precisely and with this world-class material.”
The company has also invested in new manufacturing capabilities that facilitate 24-hour-production of complex seals as large as 5 ft. (1.8 m) in diameter. A gigantic state-of-the-art CNC lathe incorporates new milling functions which greatly expand the production capabilities of Freudenberg Xpress to manufacture seals with complex geometries and features, Boeseneilers says. For example, the organization can now produce seals with complex geometries and features such as oval cuttings, holes on the seal circumference, hexagonal and rectangular shapes or virtually any other shape a customer needs thanks to the additional milling function of the machine.
“Our customers have been asking for this kind of advance capability, and we now provide it in an extremely timely and precise manner,” Boeseneilers says. “Thanks to this new lathe, we can easily accommodate seal variations and rapidly manufacture sophisticated, globally-certified sealing components for Xpress customers.”
