Automotive seals, as the name implies, are used in vehicles. They are devices that are used to join systems together. It also prevents leakage, exclude contaminants, and contain pressure. There are different types of seals and they are used in induction sealing, heating, stuffing, and adhesion of parts. The efficacy of the seals is dependent on the adhesion of both the sealant and the gasket.
Functions of Automotive Seals
Unlike other seals used in different industries, automotive seals have excellent reliability, are long-lasting and extremely silent. They can survive heavy duty use and extreme vibrations attributed to a running engine. Without these seals, everything would fall apart. Seals allow the vehicle to function properly as well as to run. They are used in different applications not only in cars but also in motorcycles, ATVs, and off-road heavy machinery and equipment.
Seals are integral parts of the automotive industry. They are used in a variety of different applications. Seals may be small but they serve an even bigger and greater purpose in the integrity of the vehicle. Below are the functions of the seals in cars.
• They enclose the gas and liquid within the chamber. The gas tank contains seals that allow the vehicle to use up the fuel without wasting it. Hydraulic seals are also important for the movement of vehicle parts. Systems within the vehicle that uses hydraulic seals include suspensions and brakes.
• Stave off contaminants from crucial parts of the vehicle components. Seals keep away dust and other debris away from the engine and other important components of the vehicle.
• They keep liquids and gases separated from one another. There are many car parts that use liquids and gases to function properly. Examples include: the engine which keeps the coolant and engine oil, brakes for the brake fluid, and the reservoir to keep the power steering fluid to name a few.
• To protect bearings. Bearings are often filled with lubricants that protect the parts from corrosion, wear, and tear. The bearings need to be spotless, thus a contamination within it may cause the housing elements to experience premature failure. The seals protect the bearing by preventing dust and powder from entering the assembly.
Types of Automotive Seals
There are a lot of seals that the automotive industry use but there are two types of seals that are commonly used. These seals have also found their way into other industries. Below are the different types of automotive seals that also have mechanical applications.
O-rings are made from elastomeric materials. They function by sealing two adjacent surfaces thus keeping the liquids contained from within a particular system. They are designed to take on extreme pressure and temperature as well as corrosive gases and liquids. They are designed to have a contact with the sealing face. It is very flexible. Thus, allowing it to accommodate any imperfections on the mounting surfaces.
It is considered as one of the most common type of seals used in machines as they are cheap and very easy to manufacture. They are also very reliable and have simple requirements, making the mounting process less complicated. Also called toric joint or packing, O-rings also have mechanical applications especially where relative motion between parts are involves. They are used to contain pressure and fluid. O-rings are used in vacuum applications to keep the pressure in check. They are also used to prevent leaks in pumps.
Lathe cut seals are used similarly with O-rings. They are made from a rubber tubing that has been inserted with a mandrel to cut the desired dimension. They provide more cost-performance benefits especially when static seal is needed. Unlike O-rings, lathe-cut seals provide wider surface for sealing thus making it more resistant against compression. They are also less expensive making them great for high volume gaskets.
This type of seal is used in rotating shafts. The lip provides a seal from a low-pressure chamber. It is installed in the pressure source and it balloons out to provide tight sealing. They are used in motors as well as reversible motors. They are also used in devices that need to maintain vacuum conditions to preclude dirt and contamination for entering.
Packing is a type of woven fiber that are packed between parts that needed to be sealed. This type of packing can be dynamic or static. It functions as a rotating shaft seal and gasket in different types of application. It is placed in a bore and compressed by a flange in automotive parts. It can also be used to seal a pump. In fact, industries like the paper manufacturing and milling use packing seals to prevent leaks.
Seals are created to prevent leaks. There are different types of leaks that are used in different industries but it is important to take note that even if they are designed to cater to the automotive industry, they have profound mechanical applications.
For more information on a variety of engineered rubber and plastic sealants, machinery devices, laboratory testing, and design engineering, contact Real Seal.
Our organization is geared to meet the more fragmenting aspects of industry today. Industrial manufacturers are being tasked with offering consumers more choice, a wider latitude of performance criterion, and greater economic restraints. As American industry continues to evolve to meet the demands of today’s consumers and the challenges of international competition, Real Seal continues to provide solutions and create value.
You might be surprised at the places you’ll find seals like the ones we design and manufacture at Eclipse Engineering
. Our seals are used in planes, trains, and yes, you guessed it — automobiles
.
Eclipse specializes in manufacturing seals that can withstand extreme temperatures and environments, which is a critical capability when it comes to the countless mechanical operations we rely on everyday, especially in the inner workings of our cars.
Seals help keep everything in your car in working order, from the mechanisms under your hood to your wheels and trunk. They also prevent leakage, keeping oil, coolant, and gas in your car so you can make it safely from point A to point B.
And there are even seals around your doors and windows to keep the rain, snow, and cold (or hot) air out, helping to maintain the interior comfort of your car.
Let’s take a deeper dive into some of the parts of your car where seals make all the difference.
Without a doubt, the engine is the most important part of any car. It’s the heart of the automobile, and seals are critical in keeping it running reliably.
Seals are used throughout the engine to keep oil where it’s supposed to be and to protect the inner workings of the engine from dirt and debris, all of which are in plentiful supply on the road.
These seals are specialized to be able to withstand the extreme temperatures and conditions encountered inside of an engine, allowing them to function as expected for hundreds or even thousands of hours of driving.
In modern vehicles, seals can be found in the engine control unit (ECU) that sits on the fender and provides information to a car’s fuel and ignition system.
The ECU is connected to sensors that tell it how the engine is performing. It uses that data to automatically drive actuators to optimize performance. Some ECUs also control the fuel injection system. Without seals to keep ECUs in clean and working order, our cars would be much less efficient.
All the internal systems motors in your car use seals. This includes the vacuum motors that open and close vents, as well as those that make your windshield wiper motors move.
The motors that roll your windows up and down also have seals installed to keep dirt and moisture out, and grease or oil in.
In the door frame on each of your car’s doors, there are a number of seals designed to keep the elements out and to help keep the car dry and warm.
There are also seals in the lift cylinders for the hood and rear hatch or trunk to keep them sealed and to allow for ease of opening and closing. Otherwise, your trunk hatch would be very difficult to hold open, and it would slam down every time you release it.
Your car’s drive train relies on seals in the water pump shaft seal, the head gasket, the gaskets that keep fluids in the oil pan gasket, and the final drive shaft crank seal.
All these seals see a variety of temperature changes, from extreme cold to above 300+ Fahrenheit. We even have seals in the joints of our exhaust system, which seal up as the temperature rises.
The transmission is one of the most important parts of any car. It’s what controls the power that is delivered to the wheels so that your car actually drives at the speed you want it to.
A transmission is full of gears, and those gears need to stay well-oiled. This is where seals come in. The transmission has a myriad of seals that hold oil in, allowing the system to build pressure, which in turn helps shift the transmission through the gears.
A car isn’t a car without wheels, and wheels don’t turn without shafts. Whether it’s the half shafts that drive the front wheels or the drive shaft that controls the differential that turns the rear wheels, the shafts in your car use rotary and static seals to keep oil in and debris from the road out.
A car is all about getting to where you’re going, but once you get there, you’d probably like to stop. Hence, brakes.
Today’s modern braking systems have seals in the anti-lock valves to prevent skidding. There are also seals in the brake valve that transfers the pedal motion when bringing the vehicle to a complete stop.
The brake caliper also has seals to maintain the oil within the brake, along with grease seals that keep road dirt out of the system.
Without power steering, controlling a car would be very difficult. Basically, your power steering system helps you out by adding additional power, so that when you gently turn the steering wheel, the wheels on your car turn in response. Otherwise, you’d have to put a lot of elbow grease into maneuvering your vehicle.
Needless to say, power steering is a pretty important feature, and it’s a system that relies on seals. Power steering systems have a pump and cylinders, all which use seals to maintain pressure while making our steering sensitive to varying speeds.
Both passive and active suspension systems use dynamic and static seals to help keep oil in. What’s the difference between dynamic and static seals, though?
A static seal is a seal that is between two surfaces that do not move in relation to each other, while a dynamic is one that is used between surfaces that do move in relation to each other. Both are incredibly important in the functioning of your car’s suspension.
The batteries in your car contain seals to maintain a constant environment. This is critical in keeping the batteries internal temperature under control to ensure a long recharging life. Without seals, you’d be changing your battery a lot more than you have to now, which would be both expensive and inconvenient.
Electric cars use seals to protect the motor from dirt. Rotary seals keep grease in the bearings, while keeping dirt out.
You’ll find that electric vehicles use seals in their power steering systems as well, utilizing fluid that helps make steering easier.
Cars are becoming more and more complicated every day. We have cars that will brake for you when they sense an object in the road, that will help prevent collisions while driving, will parallel park for you, and even do all the driving for you.
These kinds of features will only become more commonplace in the future, and it won’t be long before driverless cars are a regular sight on the highways and byways of the world.
All of these innovations require devices that rely on seals to function. So regardless of the type of car or the propulsion device, seals will not only remain an integral part of keeping vehicles running, they’ll become more important than ever.
But seals aren’t just relied on in cars, planes, and big industrial equipment. They live all over the place, even in your own home.