Minimum Friction Maximum Performance

For years, professional athletes have been coating their ski and　snowboard gear with ultrathin coatings that provide exceptional glide properties. Surface coatings at nano-scale are not only for winter sports anymore. Seal-Glide®, an innovative surface treatment from Trelleborg Sealing Solutions, significantly improves friction and stickslip properties of elastomer seals while having little or no effect on the performance of the compounds the seals are made from.

-By Donna Guinivan

High volume automation

In automotive or industrial applications, Seal-Glide® Nano gives distinct advantages in high volume automated assembly lines.

“The strong surface tackiness of elastomer seals is an inherent property, which can cause issues such as the creation of high assembly forces, disruptions in automatic assembly lines as well as reduced performance in dynamic applications,” says Gordon Micallef, Operations Director at Trelleborg Sealing Solutions in Malta, where Seal-Glide® Nano was developed.

“On many assembly lines, overall speed is limited by the elastomer parts feed rate. Due to the reduction in coefficient of friction, the use of the Seal-Glide® Nano coating will result in significant efficiency gains, by considerably improving the feed rate in automatic assembly lines. This is also important in healthcare and medical applications.

“When coated, O-Rings or complex molded parts can be installed more easily and securely in components due to better separation of the seals,” continues Andreas. “Using the friction-reducing coating, the components can be assembled smoothly and without damage so that the entire assembly process is completed simply and securely. Feed issues are minimized, reducing the probability of production stops.”

“Another advantage of Seal-Glide® is that due to its thinness, the coating has a high level of transparency and does not cover the original color of the elastomer.”

-GORDON MICALLEF, Operations Director at Trelleborg Sealing Solutions in Malta

Same properties, longer life

Typically Seal-Glide® coatings are less than 450 nanometers. It therefore imparts the benefits of a surface coating, without affecting the bulk properties of the seals. As a result, the original elastic properties of the elastomers are virtually unaltered but the seals have a higher service life due to reduced wear when in motion or on start-up.

“Another advantage of Seal-Glide® is that due to its thinness, the coating has a high level of transparency and does not cover the original color of the elastomer,” says Gordon. “The color of seals can play a central role in assembly. O-Rings are mostly black, but are often dyed in order to visually highlight differences in composition, diameter, thickness or positioning within a component.

With our innovative coating, this color coding is retained, even after the coating.” “All in all, the Seal-Glide® coating may be thin, but it can give big advantages to our customers,” concludes Andreas.