Installing CF Seals

Important information before starting: The most important thing to remember is that the CF seal’s inner and outer races must be axially aligned. This will give you the highest sealing efficiency possible from the CF seal.

Preloading the CF Seal

A large advantage of our GMN CF seal is the ability to carry the preload to the bearing. This can be done multiple ways; a common way would be to place the shaft bearing preload nut out bound of the seal itself. This can be successfully achieved in any of the below installation methods.

 Method One: Face Mounted Bearings

This is the most popular install method.

This method will leave the CF labyrinth seal at the end of a unit (i.e. spindle). An installation tool (tube) is very highly suggested to ensure that the races of the seal are axially aligned after installation. The image shows a simplified example for this installation method.

The 60 and 619 CF labyrinth seals are hardened by a heat-treated process called nitriding, that diffuses nitrogen into the surface of metal. The above picture shows the preload of the bearing being carried through the steel seal.

Method Two: Shielding Bearings

If you’ve had an issue in the past with a seal floating off the bearings, then you will benefit from having an aluminum CF seal. The diagram above is showing a standard aluminum 6200 CF seal that is spaced away from the bearing. This installation strategy can be adjusted for many types of labyrinth seal applications.

Method Three: CF Seal with Protective Shield

Another installation method would be to encase the CF labyrinth seal with a protective shield.

This shield can come from a mounting piece on the shaft or the housing. The preload of the inner race or outer race may also determine where the shield is located. The benefit of this is to reduce or eliminate any direct splashing onto the CF labyrinth seal. By doing this, the shield will also reduce any machining chips from entering and damaging the seal. Adding this type of shield is a low cost method to support the sealing efforts and protect the overall lifetime cost of the application.