Solutions from Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies for medical technology

PLYMOUTH, Mich., May 14, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Medical instruments may look delicate, but they are made to withstand tough conditions inside and outside of an environmental setting. That's why the components that go into keeping this equipment running must be durable, reliable and uniquely formulated to withstand all kinds of environmental challenges.

Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies (Freudenberg-NOK) develops materials for medical technology that meet the most stringent demands. These materials range from silicone, polyurethane and thermoplastics, to multi-component parts, such as rubber-metal or rubber-plastic solutions and elastomers. The company draws engineering solutions from a repository of more than 1,700 unique material mixtures made from more than 850 raw materials. The products manufactured from them include both standardized and customer-specific seals, molded parts and assemblies.

O-ring as vibration damper
Dental instruments are delicate tools that must meet high demands. Dental drills, for example, reach rotational speeds of up to 400,000 rotations per minute – more than a Formula One race car – and often come into contact with aggressive substances. At the same time, the high-temperature resistance of their miniature components must be guaranteed since they are thermally disinfected in autoclaves at 135 degrees C. Miniature dental O-rings from Freudenberg-NOK were developed to precisely meet these requirements. They reliably seal couplings, hand pieces, contra-angles, surgical instruments, or exchangeable units against all media. Special versions also function as vibration dampers for high-speed turbines. In addition, special molded seals in couplings ensure that air, fluids and light pass through dental turbines.

In diagnostics, a high degree of media resistance in the material being used is imperative. O-rings made of hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber (HNBR), fluoroelastomers (FKM), ethylene propylene diene monomer (M-class) rubber (EPDM) or Simriz® in the high-voltage generators and cooling systems of computer tomography scanners are one example. They provide an outstanding sealing effect, are extremely insensitive to temperatures and even can stand up to years of continuous equipment operation. Moreover, fast-rotating computer tomography scanners can subject elastomers to severe deformation and thus place high demands for durability and load-carrying capacity. Another example is the material mixture for compensating diaphragms in x-ray machines. Freudenberg-NOK offers the appropriate media resistance for all the known insulating oils in the market. Diaphragms, damping elements, braking elements and elastomer couplings are developed especially for use in x-ray machines and computer tomography scanners.

Micro-Simmerring for rotational speeds up to 10,000 rpm
The laboratory field also benefits from the material expertise at Freudenberg-NOK. The seal lips made of silicone developed for autoclave doors are easy to keep clean, resistant to a steam pressure of 4 bar and even function trouble-free on an ongoing basis at 150 degrees C. Stirrers are either equipped with Simmerrings or the Radiamatic® HTS II shaft sealing ring, a special development made of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) that stands out for its low friction and the low contact forces exerted by the lip on the shaft. Its major advantages are its high resistance to media and its dead-space-free design for use on stirring staffs. The company has also set new standards with the world's smallest shaft seal ring. The micro-Simmerring can seal shafts with a diameter of one millimeter at up to 10,000 rpm. Among other uses, it is employed in pumps and pipettes, which must dose extremely small quantities very precisely. 

The aseptic seal Hygienic Usit^® shows how important the right material is for an application. It is setting new purity standards in the food, chemical and pharmaceutical industries. The seal prevents a medium from penetrating below a screw head and promoting bacterial contamination there. Furthermore, the sealing bead of the Hygienic Usit^® is made of 70 EPDM 291, a material that conforms to FDA and EU Regulation 1935/2004 and is biologically harmless based on USP Class VI 121 degrees C.

Devices and components that are used for ventilation and anesthesia demand the greatest possible reliability. Here the selection of the right material is vital. Besides oxygen, anesthetics such as Isoflurane, Servoflurane, Enflurane, Xenon and Halothane come into use. In addition, the exhaled anesthetics and CO₂ must be managed. For this reason, vaporizers and anesthetic units are equipped with lip seal rings, molded parts, Forseals and O-rings made of special Simriz^® FFKM (perfluoroelastomers), a material that is only available from Freudenberg-NOK. It is the only material that does not swell when in contact with the anesthetic gas halothane. A special version is also available as a high-temperature material.

A brochure on the health field is available for download at http://www.fst.de/Maerkte/Industrial-Applications/Health.

About Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies
Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies is the Americas joint venture between Freudenberg and Co. in Germany and NOK Corp. in Japan. Freudenberg-NOK is a leading producer – through its Automotive, Merkel, Process Seals and Simrit sales channels – of advanced sealing technologies for a variety of markets including: aerospace; agriculture;  appliance; automotive; construction; diesel engine; energy; food and beverage; heavy industry; and pharmaceutical. Founded in 1989 under the legal name Freudenberg-NOK General Partnership, Freudenberg-NOK is headquartered in Plymouth, Mich. and operates more than 20 facilities across the Americas. For additional information, please visit www.fnst.com.

SOURCE Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies

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