With a higher yield and temperature range, MTC20 is not brittle and won’t crack like phenolic
Application engineers at System Seals began tackling the persistent issue of hydraulic cylinder side loading in steel mills. Common materials, such as phenolic, becomes brittle and can easily crack. What’s more, mill operators are pushing their equipment to ever greater extremes. In newly commissioned mills, AGCs in particular, often approach their limits with current guidance materials. The problem significantly affects performance, reliability and uptime.
Last year, System Seals dedicated its Research and Development Laboratory to the issue, where engineers created side-load calculators that pinpoint the precise effects of side loading for any given piece of equipment. Before now, mill operators could only speculate if their internal guidance would survive increasingly greater operating forces.
After experimenting with a variety of blended materials, System Seals developed the MTC20 Guide Bands for large-diameter applications. The MTC20 is supplied to size for each application at a fraction of the cost of machined guide bands.
More importantly, the MTC20 is a precision composite guide band that maintains the same properties as machined guide bands. It maintains a higher yield and temperature range. It is not brittle and won’t crack like phenolic can. The development is a significant advancement in reducing unplanned downtime.
“This is truly a breakthrough for steel mill operators who are driving their equipment harder than they ever have,” said System Seals Engineering Manager Ron Claus. “The research and testing not only helped us develop a superior product, but now we can calculate exactly what each customer requires in their guidance.”
System Seals has made its new side-load calculators available to customers to gain a better understanding about their equipment. For more information, contact System Seals at (216) 220-1800; or email info@systemseals.com.