All too often, the limiting factor in the performance of a mechanical or fluid handling system is the seals. We can design equipment to handle extremes of pressure, temperature, corrosive chemicals, or other severe environments only to discover that we can’t seal them at those extremes. Witness two of the biggest technological mishaps of the 20th century, the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger and the accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant. Both of these accidents were caused by seal failures. Modern, proper seal design could have prevented both of these accidents from ever occurring.

Design engineers rarely think about that inexpensive little ring, when they design their fluid handling systems, but that lowly seal, often just indicated on the drawing by an X, can make or break their design. Today’s oil wells are deeper, the aircraft and missiles faster, and the allowable envelopes smaller, so as temperatures, pressures, speeds, and other operational parameters increase, no longer can the rubber o-ring keep up with the increasing demands of modern equipment.

Back in the 1940s, the early aircraft hydraulic systems featured a 1500 psi hydraulic assist on the controls, being input solely by the pilot, an o-ring could easily handle the fluid containment needs. In today’s designs, the computer handles the controls with as many as four separate movements per second, and the pressures are 8000 psi. This much pressure runs the temperatures up in excess of 300 F as well. A rubber seal will simply not live in this environment.

The two primary advantages of using rubber are that they conform easily to the surface irregularities of the surface it is sealing against, so a fairly low contact pressure is needed to achieve a reliable seal. The second advantage of rubber is that the compression of seal itself serves as a spring to make up for seal wear and deformation. This means a one-piece, one material seal that can do the job quite nicely in applications that don’t overtax the material. In higher pressures, temperatures, or operating speeds, a non-elastomeric polymer must be used. The most common is PTFE (Teflon) though it is rarely used in its unfilled form. It is generally filled with different inert fillers, such as carbon, glass, or minerals to tailor it’s pressure holding and wear characteristics. Sometimes other polymers are added to the PFTE to create polymeric alloys, to improve the performance even more.

A majority of all industrial occupations involve overexertion that invariably leads to accidents and hazards. Handling and storing materials in different industries involve diverse operations such as hoisting tons of steel with a crane; driving a truck loaded with concrete blocks; carrying bags or materials manually; and stacking palletized bricks or other materials such as drums, barrels, kegs, and lumber. A survey reveals that an estimated 30 percent of the workforce is exposed to the hazard of lifting everyday. Materials handling equipment are an essential solution for reducing the risk of physical injuries for employees at work place.

Manual material handling implies unaided moving of objects, which often leads to twisted and awkward postures resulting in musculoskeletal disorders. Moreover, with the increase in the female population at workplaces and a generally older workforce, risk of injuries due to manual material handling has certainly increased. Having the right material handling equipment has become essential for a smooth and efficient workflow and high productivity.

Material Handling Equipment can be custom built in any shape or form to suit any application. Material handling equipment is used to transport, stack, recover and feed bulk materials. The concept of material handling equipment is to provide bulk material handling solutions to industries worldwide. Rollers, belts and chains are among the items that can be incorporated into a custom-built piece of material handling equipment. A variety of hydraulic and electric drives are also available. Every piece of equipment is ruggedly constructed for many years of operation.

The perfect choice of material handling equipment and good design of the material handling system and facility layout can increase productivity and reduce investments and operations’ costs. When deciding what material handling equipment to use, it is important to take into account the general characteristics of the equipment types available in the market.

Material handling equipment is undoubtedly the best solution to improve productivity while reducing the potential of workplace injury. Versatility, reliability, state-of-the-art technology and superior execution are making modern material handling equipment an utmost necessity for a variety of industries. Reduce the total amount of required manual material handling and minimize the hazards associated with these activities by creating a unified material handling system making the right material handling equipment selection. Reduce costs and improve efficiency in industrial material handling by providing the perfect selection of material handling equipment.