Detailed Program of the 22nd ISC 2024

Additive Manufacturing of Sealing rings: Material Selection and Application Development

Summary

The use of additive manufacturing, particularly 3D printing, for the production of sealing rings is a promising way to speed up the development cycle of new products. Complex geometries that were previously impossible or difficult to produce could now be realized. In addition, this technology allows for the rapid exploration and implementation of geometric variations in sealing profiles, enabling rapid optimization for individual applications.

However, this manufacturing process presents new challenges. In order to guarantee the required sealing function, the sealing material must meet specific requirements. These requirements cannot yet be fully met by 3D printable materials, which is why the use and success of additive manufactured seals is still limited. In addition, there are a number of geometric requirements that have to be considered when printing sealing rings.

In this study, a comprehensive analysis is performed focusing on the evaluation of various material properties to identify the most suitable materials for effective sealing functionality. Therefore, several elastic 3D printable materials and their printing settings were analyzed for material properties such as compression set, elongation at break, wear rate and chemical resistance. A liquid crystal display printer was used for all tests. Materials that showed optimal performance in these analyses were further tested for their printability. The geometric accuracy and reproducibility of the printed seals were analyzed and the printing parameters were optimized in order to print an optimum seal geometry.

Based on the material property studies, the most suitable materials were selected. The first prototypes of additive manufactured rod seals were tested on a test bench and compared to commercially available rod seals. In this way, the functionality of the printed seals and their materials was tested under real conditions and their performance validated.