NEWS
5Sealing Technology September 2006
Peelable grommet seals arrange of sizes
Parker purchases French EMI shieldingsupplier
AFL Telecommunications hasintroduced a new Peel & SealGrommet System, which itclaims has passed stringent quali-fication tests and is now ready forthe OSP telecommunicationsmarket.
Each grommet is designed toaccommodate several cable diame-ters. There are a number of sepa-rated thin layers of material work-ing toward the core of thegrommet. The installer determineshow many layers of material topeel away from the core that willgive the best fit on a cable diameterfor a seal. This can be determinedwith a diameter-tape measuring
tool. By wrapping the tape aroundthe cable, the installers will be ableto view markings that will directthem towards peeling away theproper number of layers from thegrommet. The grommet is thenplaced around the cable andinstalled in its seat. Once the boltsare tightened via the pillow blocks,the cable is sealed.
Contact:AFL Telecommunications Ltd, Unit H,Newcombe Drive, Hawkesworth TradingEstate, Swindon SN2 1DZ, UK. Tel: +441793 647 200, Email: [email protected], Web:www.afltele.com
US-based Parker HannifinCorporation has acquired AcofabSAS and its common majorityshareholder Adecem SARL, aEuropean supplier of electromag-netic interference (EMI) shield-ing and thermal managementproducts.
Acofab employs 64 people in theVert-Galant industrial area ofSaint-Ouen l’Aumone, near Paris,and had revenues in 2005 ofapproximately $12.9 million. Theproducts manufactured by thecompany include engineered EMIshielding gaskets and accessories,
conductive thermoplastics, thermalmanagement materials, HFabsorbers, dielectric materials andgaskets. The major markets includetelecom, military and consumerelectronics. Acofab will be integrat-ed into Parker’s ChomericsDivision, of the Parker Seal Group.
Contact:Parker Seal Group, Chomerics Division,77 Dragon Court, Woburn, MA 01888-4014, USA. Tel: +1 781 935 4850, Fax:+1 781 933 4318, Email:[email protected], Web:www.parker.com
Wrong gasket partially to blame for fatal explosion
Gasket failure causes fire
Flowserve acquires Czech Republicseal manufacturer
A fatal explosion at a chemicalplant in Morganton, NorthCarolina, USA last January waspartially due to the use of anincorrect gasket according toevidence presented to theinvestigation.
Workers reported that thebatch of paint additive beingprocessed at the plant owned bySynthron was much larger thannormal. They also said a gasketused on the reactor was not thecorrect type. The week beforethe accident the company had
fitted a new gasket on the reac-tor, but witnesses said it wasslightly larger than required.One worker suggested the ill-fit-ting gasket could have inhibitedsafety release valves, contributingto the uncontrolled chemicalreaction, that investigators sus-pect triggered the explosion.One worker was killed and 14injured.
The company was ultimatelyfound guilty of 40 safety offences.
From reports in the CharlotteObserver during June.
A fire at the Citgo Refinery Westin Corpus Christi, Texas in Julywas blamed on a gasket thatfailed.
The leakage occurred on a pipefeeding hydrogen to a tower on
the refinery. The fire was con-tained and the pipe purged withnitrogen. There were no injuries.
From a report in the CorpusChristi Caller Times, Web:www.caller.com
Texas-based Flowserve Corpora-tion has purchased HydroTechnik Olomouc sro, a privatelyowned mechanical seal manufac-turer based in Olomouc, CzechRepublic.
HydroTechnik Olomouc (HTO)was established in 1992 by seal spe-cialists from the former SIGMAPumps Research Institute and offersa range of mechanical seals andrelated products, focusing on Czechoriginal equipment manufacturers,and power and process industrymarkets. The acquisition is intended
to provide Flowserve with a rapidroute into supporting customersand expanding business in theCzech Republic and throughoutEastern Europe. The Olomouc facil-ity will be configured as a FlowserveQuick Response Center (QRC) tosupport regional customers.
Contact:Flowserve Corporation, Flow SolutionsDivision, 5215 North O’ConnorBoulevard, Suite 2300, Irving, TX 75039,USA. Tel: +1 972 443 6652, Fax: +1 972443 6952, Web: www.flowserve.com
SEALS IN THE NEWS
Sealing problems threatened round-the-world voyageIn May 2006 Dee Caffaribecame the first woman to sailsingle handed around theworld, the wrong way, againstthe prevailing wind. Among theproblems that she had to over-come were two sealing problemsthat could have caused her toabandon the trip.
Little more than a week intothe voyage her desalinater, forproducing fresh water, failed. Theshore team stripped down a simi-lar machine and decided that thehigh pressure seals needed chang-ing and rebuilt it. The informa-tion was relayed to Caffari, whothen did the same.
As she was about to enter theSouthern Ocean her autopilotfailed. ‘I had trouble with it as Iwas about to enter the SouthernOcean. I was debating whether itwas too dangerous to go on.’ A leakfrom the hydraulic pump was the cause of the problem, and after
fixing this she decided to continue.The autopilot is of course crucialto a lone sailor on a long voyage.
From the Daily Telegraph of 22July.
Dee Caffari successfully completes the first lone circumnavigation the wrongway round by a woman, afterovercoming sealing problemsthat could have made herabandon the trip.
