Welcome back to Smalley Talk, in this installment Product Manager Simon Ward fields some questions about retaining rings (Pirolox rings and Laminar Seal rings).

When Installing your retaining rings, does the orientation or direction of loading matter?

TFC’s Smalley Spirolox retaining rings are manufactured by edge coiling a flat wire with uniform cross-section, this means there is no right or wrong side as would be the case with some stamped snap rings. Therefore, the orientation of the ring during assembly and the direction of loading within the assembly do not affect performance. In addition this means Spirolox rings are ideal for automated assembly, they do not tangle and the orientation is not critical. Visit the installation and instalment page in our catalogue or visit www.tfc.eu.com/smalley for more information.

Have your Laminar Seal Rings been used on reciprocating applications?
Some TFC clients have successfully utilized Laminar Seal Rings in reciprocating applications, perhaps acting as a scraper ring preventing damage to more vulnerable rubber or polymer seals. However the standard Laminar Seal Rings are not designed for such use, they are intended to provide either internal or external sealing against the ingress of dirt. Whatever your Laminar Sealing application we suggest a call to one of our Technical team at TFC to discuss your options.

That™s all for now, next time we will look at more Smalley application and design questions. You can see more blog entries and other application examples on our technical articles page.