Like all businesses, when times are tough, it’s important to look at reducing costs within the value stream. One area Kemet International has been helping companies reduce their costs is the overhaul and repair of mechanical seals within pumps and valves.

There are many different designs of mechanical seals and a huge range of materials. When these fail, there are really only 2 options, replacement or refurbishment. Failures will usually be due to either wear which causes leakage, or worse, catastrophic failure. For wear, Kemet can supply equipment and expertise that enable the end users or their service teams to refurbish mechanical seals on-site and at a low cost. They also supply all the necessary inspection equipment including monochromatic lights and optical flats so that flatness and surface finish can be certified after refurbishment and prior to pressure testing. Kemet’s flat lapping systems can handle all mechanical seal materials from carbon to silicon carbide, and many mechanical seal manufacturers use Kemet machines and consumables during their manufacturing processes. This means you can be sure your sealing faces will be the same specification as they were from new. 

Incorrect lapping and or the use of the wrong abrasives and lapping tools are the most common reasons for leaking valves after repair, leading to lengthened servicing turnaround times. For time-critical plant shutdowns, it’s very important that seats and seals are repaired correctly the first time. Kemet has produced a lapping kit that can be used on Tyco, Crosby, and Anderson Greenwood pressure relief valves.

Kemet can also offer systems for lapping convex or concave seal faces, a requirement that is getting more common every year. A Kemet 24 lapping and polishing machine will cost significantly less than some silicon carbide seals so if you’re looking for calmer seas during this stormy period, contact Kemet International.

For field metallographic replication procedures on components that are too large to bring to the laboratory, the Kemet Portable Grinder Polisher & Etching unit gives you the ability to work in-situ for non-destructive replication techniques, ideal for both flat and curved surfaces. The major application areas for the PGP kit are power plants, petroleum and natural gas pipelines.

The Company has a complete programme of Lapping Machines for the maintenance workshop, which are able to duplicate the processes used by seal and valve manufacturers.  The largest standard model machine can finish gate valves up to 1 metre in length. Smaller transportable systems are based on the Kemet 15 Machine. This bench-mounted model is able to finish seal faces up to 5” in diameter.

Established in 1938, Kemet International Limited is at the forefront of precision lapping and polishing technology, using Diamond Compound and Diamond Slurry, which are manufactured in house to ISO 9001:2015 quality standards.

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