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Using O-ring face seal fittings (ORFS or flat face fittings) such as Parker Seal-Lok is one of the easy steps you can take to get rid of hydraulic leaks in your hydraulic system. Hydraulic leaks are mostly viewed as a nuisance but the drops can add up to real money fast. (Read about cost of hydraulic leaks in our related blog.)

Parker-Seal-Lok-FittingsThey provide an excellent seal - better than any other fitting style, they are hard to over-tighten and easy to install... the only down-side is a possible incompatibility of its O-ring with the media or super high-temp applications, although the most of chemical compatibility or high heat challenges can be solved by using viton or other o-rings instead of standard buna material.

The  O-ring face seal technology was pioneered by Parker's tube division in the early 1980s.

The fitting consists of a nut, a body, an O-ring and a sleeve.  It meets or exceeds the requirements of SAE J1453 (for imperial sizes) and ISO 8434-3 (for metric sizes). Parker produces over 60 body configurations of Seal-Lok tube fittings for all kinds of applications.

How Seal-LokTM works

The tube is flanged to 90° or brazed to a sleeve. The body face contains a high durometer O-ring held captive in a captive O-ring groove.  As the nut is tightened on to the fitting body, the O-ring is compressed between the body and the flat face of the flanged tube (or brazed sleeve). As the fitting is assembled, an O-ring is compressed and eventually "fills-out" the precision machined groove in the fitting body to form a leak tight seal. As the face of the tube comes in contact with the face of the fitting body, further tightening of the nut will cause the assembler to sense a sharp rise in torque. It is a signal that the assembly has been made and a solid pull of the wrench at this point to the recommended tightening torque produces a tight, positive seal. Because of this sharp rise in torque when the two faces meet, the possibility of over tightening is minimized.

Since the flat sealing surfaces are perpendicular to the assembly pull, they remain virtually free of distortion during assembly and consequently permit Seal-Lok to be re-made over and over. 

There are many advantages to using Parker Seal-LokTM tube fittings

  1. Elastomeric Seal: The O-ring seal guarantees a leak-free joint.
  2. High Pressure Capability: Up to 9200 PSI depending on size and configuration.
  3. Positive O-Ring Retention: O-ring won't "blow-out" under high pressure.
  4. Seal-Lok-Drop-In-InstallationEase of Assembly: Seal-Lok fittings do not "enter" into tubes during assembly. This "zero tube entry" feature of Seal-Lok simplifies installation and maintenance by allowing simple dropping-in (or out) of components. (See Parker Seal-Lok assembly methods for more information.)
  5. High Torque Capability: The sharp torque rise at assembly provides positive indication of proper assembly and results in superior resistance to overtightening.
  6. Unlimited Reusability: The O-ring seal along with its resistance to over-torque provide Seal-Lok with unlimited reusability.
  7. Longer SAE Port End: The SAE port end of the fitting has approximately 1½ extra threads to allow for higher operating pressures. The port end is still compatible with SAE standard straight thread O-ring boss port.
  8. Adaptability to Inch and Metric Tubing and Hose: The Parker Seal-Lok fitting can be easily adapted to metric tubing by using a metric sleeve.

The Seal-Lok fitting is also suitable for hose assemblies. 

If you have a compatibility issue with the standard O-ring, you can use a non-standard O-ring to suit your application. Choose from fluorocarbon compound or Nitrile compound. If that does not do the trick, you may have to resort to using a 37° JIC flare fitting (like Parker Triple-lok®).

Follow this link for more information on Parker Seal-Lok.

 

Posted by Marek Bobik

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