Elastomeric Seal Design

O-ring and seal engineering — gland design for static and dynamic service, squeeze and stretch, compound selection, installation, failure-mode diagnosis.

Private cohorts & on-site
Format: 2-day (8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.)
Level: Intermediate
Location: Scheduled on demand · on-site at your facility or a regional venue
Date(s): Not yet scheduled for open enrollment. Get notified when it is, or book it privately for your team.
Includes: Certificate of Completion · printed slide binder · take-home reference text

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One email when dates are set. Or skip the wait: run it as a private cohort, on-site at your plant.

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Faculty

Faculty details for this seminar will be announced with the full schedule.

Fees

Early: $1,895 (payment 4+ weeks ahead)
Standard: $2,095 (check/ACH) · $2,165 (card)

Group discount: $200 off per attendee for 3+ from the same organization.

Also Available

  • Corporate on-site delivery at your facility
  • Private cohort sessions
  • Digital curriculum licensing

Seminar Overview

The O-ring is the most-used seal in engineering and the least-understood component on most prints — and when it leaks, the failure usually traces to gland geometry, material choice, or installation, not to the seal itself. This seminar is built from the definitive primary source in the field: the **Parker O-Ring Handbook (ORD5700)** — Parker Hannifin's engineering reference covering seal fundamentals, gland design for static and dynamic service, squeeze and stretch mechanics, compound selection, chemical compatibility, temperature limits, lubrication and installation practice, and the complete failure-mode catalog. It is supplemented with the broader design-guides corpus where sealing interfaces meet part and mold design.

Day one covers fundamentals and gland design: how an O-ring actually seals, the AS568 standard size system, gland dimensions and tolerances for static radial, static axial (face), and dynamic applications, and the squeeze, stretch, and fill percentages that decide whether a seal works — including back-up rings for high pressure and the gland-finish and hardness details that separate reliable glands from warranty claims. Day two covers materials and the real world: NBR, EPDM, FKM, silicone, and PTFE compound families and their fluid/temperature envelopes, chemical compatibility method, lubricant selection, installation practice, and the failure catalog — extrusion, spiral failure, compression set, explosive decompression, and installation damage — closing with a participant-driven gland review workshop.

The differentiator: this seminar is taught from PRIMARY SOURCE material — the actual Parker O-Ring Handbook tables, data, and procedures — not vendor slide decks. You leave able to specify a gland on a drawing and a compound for a service, and to defend both.

Ideal Learner

  • Product and mechanical engineers who specify seals, glands, and sealed assemblies
  • Design and applications engineers in fluid power, fluid handling, and sealed-electronics packaging
  • Quality and supplier-quality engineers investigating leak complaints and seal failures
  • Manufacturing and assembly engineers who own seal installation and lubrication processes
  • Industry segments: automotive OEM/Tier 1, fluid power and hydraulics, medical devices, plumbing/fluid handling, appliance and industrial equipment

Learning Objectives

  • Explain how an elastomeric seal works — pressure energization, squeeze, and the sealing mechanism — and diagnose why a given seal is not sealing
  • Design static and dynamic glands to Parker Handbook geometry: dimensions, tolerances, clearances, and surface finishes for radial, face, and piston/rod applications
  • Set and verify squeeze, stretch, and gland fill percentages within Handbook limits, and correct designs that violate them
  • Select seal compounds (NBR, EPDM, FKM/silicone, PTFE-encapsulated) against fluid, temperature, and dynamic requirements, using chemical compatibility data rather than hearsay
  • Specify back-up rings, hardness, and clearances for high-pressure service; choose lubricants compatible with the compound
  • Recognize and root-cause the standard failure modes — extrusion, spiral failure, compression set, explosive decompression, installation damage — from the failed hardware itself
  • Apply the AS568 standard size system and state when a nonstandard size is genuinely justified

Consulting Sessions

Seminar attendees can sign up for individual consulting sessions with the instructor. Sessions are free for registered attendees, first-come first-served — sign up when registering by calling 248-539-0473 or during the seminar.

Seminar Outline

  • The sealing mechanism: initial squeeze, pressure energization, and why an O-ring seals better as pressure rises
  • Anatomy of a seal: cross-section (CS), inside diameter (ID), and the AS568 standard size system
  • Where O-rings belong — and where a different seal geometry is the right answer
  • **Seal Case Study: a leak traced not to the O-ring but to the gland it lived in**
  • Static radial (piston/rod, non-pressurized and pressurized) gland dimensions, clearances, and tolerances
  • Static axial (face) seals: groove dimensions, pressure direction, and ID/OD anchoring rules
  • Gland fill percentage: the 85% guideline and the calculations that verify it; volume method walkthrough
  • Surface finish, chamfer radii, and lead-in design; port and groove details that matter
  • **Exercise 1: design a complete face-seal gland from service conditions and verify squeeze and fill by calculation**
  • Dynamic piston and rod seals: friction, wear, and the tighter squeeze/stretch windows of reciprocating service
  • Rotary and oscillatory service and why standard O-rings struggle there
  • Back-up rings: single and double configurations, clearance-vs-pressure logic, anti-extrusion design
  • Pressure, temperature, and speed derating of dynamic gland geometry
  • **Exercise 2: set the gland, clearances, and back-up ring plan for a 5,000 psi reciprocating application**
  • Squeeze percentage by application class and cross-section; the physics behind the Handbook's ranges
  • Stretch limits and the diametral relationships that prevent over-stretch and under-squeeze
  • Cross-section and size selection sequence from bore/shaft dimensions; standard vs. nonstandard size decisions
  • **Seal Case Study: an under-squeezed large-diameter gland that passed inspection and failed in service**
  • **Exercise 3: audit a supplied gland print for squeeze, stretch, and fill — and list every violation**
  • Compound families and their envelopes: NBR (general purpose), EPDM (steam/brake fluids/glycol), FKM/Viton-class fluoroelastomers (fuel/chemical/heat), silicone (temperature extremes, dynamic weakness), PTFE and encapsulated O-rings (near-universal chemistry, elasticity tradeoff)
  • Chemical compatibility method: fluid-by-compound data, swelling limits, and the volume-change rules of thumb
  • Temperature limits and combined temperature/chemical derating; compression set resistance as a selection criterion
  • Hardness selection and its friction/wear/extrusion consequences
  • **Exercise 4: select and defend a compound for a three-fluid, wide-temperature application from compatibility tables**
  • Lubricant selection by compound compatibility (petroleum vs. silicone vs. fluoro grease) and application quantity
  • Installation practice: lead-ins, sharp-edge avoidance, stretch-over-features, and tooling for blind grooves
  • Storage and shelf life of elastomeric stock; incoming inspection of O-rings
  • **Seal Case Study: an installation nick that produced a "bad batch" complaint — and the assembly fix**
  • The failure catalog: extrusion and nibbling, spiral failure (and its rotary/reciprocating signature), compression set, explosive decompression (rapid gas depressurization), UV/ozone degradation, installation damage
  • Reading the failed seal: fracture surfaces, set patterns, wear bands, and what each reveals
  • Root-cause sequence from failed hardware back to gland, material, or installation
  • **Seal Case Study: compression set mistaken for shrinkage — the gland redesign that ended the complaint**
  • **Exercise 5: diagnose three failed-seal photographs, assign failure mode, and prescribe the fix**
  • Full-gland review method: application requirements → size selection → gland geometry → squeeze/stretch/fill verification → compound selection → failure-mode risk check
  • Drawing language for seals: what must appear on the print so suppliers build the gland you designed
  • **Exercise 6 (capstone): complete gland review of an attendee-supplied application, presented and critiqued against Handbook criteria**

More in Track C — Design, Molding & Tooling

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