Industrial seal self study guide - SKF.com

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Brief History of the Shaft Seal
SKF Sealing Solutions invented and patented the first integrated,
self-contained shaft seal in 1928 (fig. 1a). It was designed to hold
grease in automobile wheel hubs and help lubricate the wheel bearing.
In the mid 1930’s, SKF pioneered the development of custom
formulating, compounding and molding of elastomers (synthetic
rubber) to develop higher performance materials. This led to other
innovations in manufacturing processes, new sealing techniques to
handle more demanding automotive and industrial applications
and the compounding and molding of various elastomer seals to
improve consistency and quality.
Today, SKF is the world’s leading supplier of fluid sealing devices for
the truck, automotive, farm equipment, aircraft, heavy machinery
and machine tool industries. SKF also supplies seals for aerospace
missiles, earthmoving equipment, appliances, and a wide variety of
pumps, hydraulic systems, motors and sub-assemblies.
A company-wide commitment to quality earned SKF Sealing
Solutions significant certifications including TS16949 in December
2002 and ISO 9001:2000 in May 1999.
SKF can supply more than 200 types of seals, over 3,000 stock
sizes, and over 10,000 cataloged variations. That includes seals in
both inch and metric sizes, metal and rubber O.D.’s in both bonded
and assembled designs, with single or double lip elements and with
or without springs or inner cases (fig. 1b).
SKF sealing products fit shaft diameters from . 110” to over 180”.
They fit metric shaft diameters from 3mm to over 4572mm. All are
fashioned from an ever-growing spectrum of sealing elements
and materials including LongLife fluoroelastomer lip materials.*
That, plus ongoing development of new materials and processes,
will enable SKF to meet tomorrow’s expectations.
SKF invented the shaft
seal in 1928 (fig. 1a).
Over 2 types of seals are now
available from SKF (fig. 1b).
*LongLife is a registered trademark of SKF
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