A Guide on Wear-Resistant Guide Rings for Piston and Rod Seals

Mar 08, 2021 Rod Seals | Mechanical Seals

Wear-resistant guide rings are the friction-resistant guiding elements, which are inserted between the piston and rod, thus, they are also known as piston guide rings. These piston guide rings are made from various materials, in various dimensions and specifications.

Among various factors, the efficiency of wear-resistant guide rings depends upon the quality of the product. SSP Seals is a manufacturer and supplier of high-quality wear guide rings. Their piston guide rings are made from various materials to serve various operational requirements. This post discusses the function, significance of guide rings followed by the features, specifications, and types of piston guide rings offered by SSP Seals.

The Significant Functions of Piston Guide Rings

The wear guide rings contribute to the operation of a piston rod assembly in the following ways.

The main function of piston guide rings is to guide the motion of piston and rod while preventing any misalignment and absorbing transverse forces.
These are also known as rod seal guide rings as they prevent metal-to-metal contact between the rod and piston, prevent leakage of fluids, and reduce friction.
Due to the reduction in friction and absorption of transverse forces, these rod seal guide rings prevent excessive heat generation, which ultimately increases the durability and efficiency of the piston rod assembly.

Knowing the function is not enough, you also need to know the different types of rings and how do they operate. Read the next section to know more about the types of piston guide rings offered by SSP Seals and their functions.

Types of Piston Guide Rings Offered By SSP Seals

SSP Seals manufactures three varieties of wear guide rings as listed below.

WAT Guide Rings: The WAT guide rings are designed for dynamic operation on either inner or outer surfaces of both rod and pistons. These guide rings are made from glass fiber reinforced polymer. These rings can also be made from PTFE if self-lubrication capabilities are required in the wear guide rings.
PGR Piston Guide Rings: These are piston guide rings that are designed to operate on the outer surface of the piston. Although these types of piston guide rings can be manufactured from different materials, SSP Seals offers standard rings made from phenolic resins laminated with cotton fabric. These rings can be clamped in the cylinder head by the split-open-and-clamp installation.
RGR Rod Guide Rings: These are the rod seal guide rings designed to direct the rod by preventing any misalignment during forward and reverse motion. These rod seal guide rings are ideally made from phenolic resins laminated with cotton fabric but can be availed in different materials depending on the requirements.

Beneficial Features of SSP Seals Guide Rings

The following features of SSP Seals guide rings have contributed to their easy acceptance in various industries.

The piston guide rings by SSP Seals are designed for high load-bearing capacity.
They offer high friction resistance and high absorption of transverse forces.
They are designed to maintain precise alignment.
The high wiping effect of these rings offers clean operation in case of any leakage.
They are designed for excellent shock absorption.
Due to high wear resistance, these rings offer longer life-expectancy.
They are manufactured in compliance with Mil specifications, FDA guidelines, etc.

Owing to these special features, these guide rings are exposed to a wide scope of applications in industrial operations as listed below.

Medical Equipment
Vacuum Equipment
Drilling and Mining Equipment
Hydraulic and Pneumatic Equipment

In addition to the above, these guide rings are being increasingly used in various industrial applications. Other than these wear-resistant guide rings, SSP Seals specializes in the design and manufacturing of different types of seals, parts, and gaskets in standard, as well as metric sizes. All guide rings are designed and manufactured in the US using high-quality materials.