Raising the Roof in Leg Jack Cylinders

When an American remanufacturer of leg jack cylinders set out to compete with Europe’s global market leaders, the company asked System Seals to redesign the standard OEM seals in a way that would raise the bar for the entire mining industry.

Mining operators have placed greater demands on sealing systems to increase safety and reduce environmental concerns. Uptime in extreme conditions translates directly into revenue. But when time came to rebuild the cylinders, a lack of viable alternatives forced the market to follow old OEM seal specifications. Breaking that cycle required a new design with significant improvements.

System Seals began developing a complete sealing system designed specifically for the company’s new American leg jacks. The materials were proprietary blends designed in System Seals’ research-and-development lab. They were noticeably more robust and with far greater flexibility during rebuild.

Placing safety as a top concern, the new seals had to perform well in the harshest underground conditions, while preventing even the slightest drift or bypassing. The material needed to be fire resistant and compatible with a wide range of fluids, pressures, temperatures and gas. It would become the most robust seal for any industry, and it included System Seals’ patented “Rambo” wiper, a custom waterproof design that aggressively eliminates harsh contaminates.

Before the prototypes were rolled out, independent European researchers remained skeptical that significant improvements were even possible. Testing began in Poland. The initial goal was to safely reach 30,000 cycles. When the seal kit effortlessly passed that mark, the test team ramped it up to 60,000 cycles.

After more than 120,000 cycles – four times greater than the original goal – researchers ran out of time and finally ended the test. With no signs of abnormality or excessive wear, the new System Seals leg jack cylinder kit began to redefine the industry’s expectations, and it positioned the American rebuilder at the top of the market.