CHALLENGE
Under-warranty boom cylinders were failing due to heavy side-loads, requiring the cylinder bores to be replaced with every repair.
SOLUTION
System seals developed an oversized piston kit program, allowing the OEM to hone and reuse existing cylinder tubes.
RESULT
Cylinder bores can now be reused up to two additional times before being scrapped, saving thousands in new cylinder bores and labor costs.
A prominent OEM of material handling vehicles was facing a major warranty issue with prematurely failing boom cylinders. Extensive side loads were damaging the cylinder bores, requiring a complete tube replacement every time a cylinder came back from the field.
The cost of repairing under warranty was a major concern, so the OEM reached out to System Seals for a solution. System Seals determined that instead of disposing the worn cylinder bores, the OEM could utilize a set of oversize piston kits to hone out damaged bores and reuse them, saving both time and money.
Oversizing bores increases the threat of extrusion, so engineers designed the piston seal with robust anti-extrusion rings to maximize seal life. In the end, the System seals solution allowed the OEM to oversize the cylinder bores by 0.010” or 0.020” before scraping the tube and replacing with new.
This practice created enormous cost savings by offsetting the expense of new parts and disposal of additional scrap metal. And with System Seals’ rapid turnaround, stock kits were delivered within the week, resulting in a fast response to a troubling situation.
Since this opportunity, System Seals are introduced several other oversized kits to various industries, providing cost savings, efficiencies in repair and waste reduction.