O-ring Slot

Can O-rings be used in rectangular or non-circular groove patterns? This question comes up weekly, and the answer is a resounding “Yes!” however there are definite guidelines we want to follow. A non-circular face seal footprint might also be called a racetrack groove, a wandering groove or a custom plan view. When using an O-ring, the main design consideration is the corner or smallest radius (shown “r” in diagram). The inside radius should be at least three times the O-ring cross sectional diameter. In a perfect world, six times greater is even better. What we want to avoid is over-stressing the O-ring around the bend, or causing a corner crease which increases likelihood of corner leakage. Designing the radius at six times the cross section will minimize the bending stress, resulting in increased service life.

Ideal design: r > 6 x W diameter but no less than r > 3 x W diameter

To minimize installation difficulties arising from stretch or OD compression on the seal, the centerline perimeter of the groove should match the centerline circumference of the O-ring. The rectangular cross section of the groove will follow the suggested guidelines in the O-Ring Handbook.

O-Ring Design Considerations What to Know About O-Ring Squeeze, Stretch, Compression, and More. Our o-ring groove design guides list default o-ring groove dimensions for the most basic applications and are intended to be used with the following o-ring groove design considerations to engineer on o-ring gland to optimize specific application performance. Welcome to our O-ring Groove Design section. Here you will find an O-ring groove design guide to help you with your O-ring gland dimensions. Through our extensive research we believe that these O-ring groove dimensions and fit details will provide the optimum O-ring compression squeeze for your seal to prevent O-ring leaks. O-ring-kits The handy carrying case with O-rings is ideally suited for repairs, assembly jobs and workshops, and finally puts an end to the search for the right O-ring. Parker offers it in various versions: with O-rings in se-lected imperial and metric standard dimensions and appropriate materials or with customised content.

An O-ring, also known as a packing or a toric joint, is a mechanical gasket in the shape of a torus; it is a loop of elastomer with a round cross-section, designed to be seated in a groove and compressed during assembly between two or more parts, creating a seal at the interface. Gland Depth x Groove Width (area of the gland) must be larger than the cross section area of the o-ring (Pi x R^2). Otherwise many bad things will happen to your design. Make sure the squeeze% is sufficiently high enough to seal, but low enough to allow dynamic movements.

For those times when hardware real estate is at a premium and we simply cannot increase the inside corner radii to the desired size, an alternative option is the O-Seal. The O-Seal has a round cross section like an O-ring. However the footprint of the O-Seal is designed to match the shape of the groove. The primary advantage of the O-Seal is custom molding to fit the exact groove, eliminating the concern that comes with bending stress at the corners. A smaller corner radii can be used for the groove, allowing the footprint to fit perfectly within the application’s design constraints.

If there are multiple ports or openings on the face, or bolt holes to contour around, these seals can be consolidated into a single O-seal solution. By consolidating seals, the installation process becomes much easier. All seals are ready to be installed at the same time, and the risk of installing the incorrect seal material is eliminated. This may offer the added advantage of streamlining the bill of materials and simplifying the amount of stock to be replenished during the assembly process.

O Ring Groove Dimensions Metric

O-Seals are available in nearly every material family and engineered for optimum size and configuration for each unique application. Parker Application Engineers are happy to assist you with your racetrack groove design or a custom O-Seal. Please contact us today via online chat or by email by visiting Parker O-Ring and Engineered Seals Division website.

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This article was contributed by Dorothy Kern , applications engineer lead, O-Ring & Engineered Seals Division

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