2008-09-04 19:32:02 -
www.thindiamond.com - UNCD(R) Faces from Advanced Diamond Technologies (ADT) enable mechanical seal manufacturers and OEMs to affordably incorporate the outstanding properties of diamond in their products with minimal risk and effort. UNCD Faces add the low wear and low friction of diamond to mechanical shaft seal rings, and they increase energy efficiency, and reduce costs in fluid pumping systems by
improving reliability and increasing mean time between failure (MTBF).
By incorporating UNCD Faces into new or existing products, seal manufacturers and OEMs can quickly offer their customers the benefits of diamond seals. Unlike other diamond films used for seals, UNCD is so smooth it can be run directly against conventional carbon and silicon carbide (SiC) counterfaces making UNCD Faces suitable for a wide variety of pumping applications while minimizing the engineering required to integrate diamond.
"Once relegated to only the most demanding applications, the use of diamond in face seals is quickly entering the mainstream due to the maturation of the technology. End users are asking for diamond, and seal manufacturers and OEMs need a quick, simple, and reasonably priced way to respond. UNCD Faces are the solution," said Neil Kane, ADT's president.
UNCD Faces are offered in standard ANSI O-ring style mating rings and as custom parts made to engineering drawings. UNCD Faces are made in the USA using high-quality and fully tested alpha-phase SiC sourced from major manufacturers. Initial samples can be made to customers' drawings typically in less than four weeks. UNCD Faces have undergone comprehensive testing and technical details are available at www.diamondseals.com.
Due to its heritage as a spinoff from Argonne National Laboratory (Argonne), ADT has extensive experience and capability in surface characterization to support customer development programs. ADT's dynamic seal test capabilities are used routinely for accelerated wear and friction tests as well as ongoing quality control and monitoring.
"In accelerated wear tests with extremely poor lubrication we have seen UNCD Faces wear 100 times slower than SiC faces with corresponding reductions in the coefficient of friction of over 75 percent while maintaining excellent adhesion," said Charles West, ADT's vice president of engineering. "The real benefit of diamond seal faces is to allow the seals to withstand upset conditions without failure. Reliability is everything."
Available since February 2008, ADT will continue offering UNCD Seals for testing and evaluation to pump users whose seal suppliers don't yet offer diamond-enabled products. UNCD Seals received a 2008 R&D 100 Award which recognizes the year's most technologically significant products.
ADT acknowledges the support of the National Science Foundation's SBIR program and the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (DOE-EERE) Industrial Technologies Program.
About Advanced Diamond Technologies
ADT is the world leader in the developing and applying diamond films for industrial, electronic, and medical applications. Formed to commercialize the ultrananocrystalline diamond technology developed at Argonne, ADT is the exclusive licensee to its portfolio of diamond patents. ADT is a World Economic Forum 2007 Technology Pioneer as well as being a runner-up for the Wall Street Journal's 2006 Technology Innovation Award.
For more information about UNCD Faces, visit
www.diamondseals.com.
For more information about ADT, visit
www.thindiamond.com.
Calyx Consulting
Jill Jackson, 312-231-9870
Fax: 312-264-0319
jill@calyxconsulting.com
www.calyxconsulting.com
