Seals are considered “high-stakes” when they are critical and can cause equipment to shut down, due to a leak for example. The maintenance and installation of these types of seals requires a great deal of expertise and experience, but also responsiveness and innovation to ensure they can be replaced as quickly as possible, without dismantling the equipment.

With 25 years of experience in the design, manufacture and on-site installation and maintenance of seals, PXL SEALS is the perfect partner for industry players in a variety of high-tech sectors.

We supply and install very large diameter seals, manufactured in our premises in the Ain department. In particular, we are present on the markets of waterproofing maintenance of boat PODs, large bearings mounted on radars or slewing rings in general.

This equipment can be found in various sectors ranging from EMR to marine, oil and gas (offshore), high-tech industry, mechanical maintenance, as well as on hydroelectric equipment.

Find out how the PXL SEALS team works on site on these different types of equipment.

Types of interventions

On-site expert appraisal

Choosing a seal is not a trivial matter. “It’s leaking” does not necessarily mean that the seal is non-compliant or defective. It may not be completely suitable for the operating conditions, or maybe the housing does not have the correct characteristics for optimum operation.

An on-site appraisal of the housing, the removed seal and the method used to fit/remove it is very often required before any intervention takes place.

A detailed review of the condition of the housings and information gathering about the behaviour of the seal and changes in it over time will enable the PXL SEALS design office to conduct a more realistic study and design the most suitable sealing solution.

Once the appraisal is complete, the seals are designed and then manufactured either at our premises or with the assistance of our partners.

On-site maintenance and replacement of seals

The PXL SEALS on-site intervention team carries out operations that can range from the simple replacement of a seal to the full management of the maintenance of the turnkey sealing system:

Once the seal has been designed and manufactured, we coordinate the dispatch of the material and send our teams to the intervention location.

Circular seals can be installed all in one piece. In this case, the system is disassembled and access to the housing is possible.

Otherwise, the seals can be installed by using one of three different bonding methods: cold bonding, the HLB hot bonding by material addition process and the MD on-site bonding process:

    With cold bonding, the two ends of the seal are bonded on-site with a cold-curing adhesive after the new seal has been designed and then manufactured in our workshops.

    With the HLB (hot layer bounding) process, the two ends of the seal are joined by curing a disc of raw elastomer.

    The MD WAY ® patented method can be used to create the bond entirely through on-site bonding without any external addition of adhesive or elastomer.

To find out more about the various on-site bonding options offered by PXL SEALS, and to learn about the properties of the bonds achieved, please take a look at the following article: https://www.pxlseals.com/fr/blog/solutions-de-jonction-et-de-moulage-sur-site

PXL SEALS can offer you a turnkey intervention service including:

•     Installation of the site and scaffolding


•     Draining of units


•     Blade rotation


•     Mechanical preparation of housings (joint covers, screws, cleaning, resin application, etc.)

 

Finally, we can also help your teams fit seals.

A certified approach

PXL SEALS has been certified according to standard ISO9001 for almost 15 years and plans to be certified according to standard ISO45001 by the end of 2021.  Managing our quality and safety processes is our everyday focus.  All of our intervention teams are trained by approved and authorised bodies.

Interventions for high-stakes equipment

In industry, for large equipment as well as in the hydro sector, PXL SEALS carries out the appraisal and replacement of high-stakes seals, requiring the design and manufacture of specific seals.

Maintenance / replacement of large bearing seals

Our on-site intervention team has carried out maintenance on large equipment, after designing and manufacturing large diameter seals.

Ball-and-socket joint on the Monaco breakwater

Inside the Monaco breakwater, the waterproofing of a ball-and-socket joint allowing the connection of a floating barge to the Monaco breakwater was designed, manufactured and installed by our team.

The seals must ensure the waterproofing of the mechanical ball joint located on a mechanical floating barge operating at 8 metres below sea level, with a diameter of 2.30 metres.

Replacement of the Brighton tower shaft seal

The on-site intervention team replaced British Airways i360 bearing seals without disassembling the equipment (add info about dimensions etc)

Replacement of seals in the marine sector

Floating caisson gate sealing

PXL SEALS replaced the seals on a floating caisson gate in Marseille: waterproofing seal of an 87-metre long, 16-metre thick and 15-metre high concrete gate, which closes a basin in the port of Marseille.

Find out about the intervention details in this article: https://www.pxlseals.com/fr/etancheite-de-seuil-de-bateau-porte

Pods seals (steering)

EMR seals – tidal power plants – tidal turbines

For more than 10 years, PXL Seals has been one of the main partners of the La Rance tidal power station for the maintenance and supply of key seals. We have recently replaced the blade seals on the bulb units.

The intervention team uses the patented MD Way process of on-site curing by moulding, which reduces the downtime of the equipment.

Critical seals:

Design of valve seals for the Hongrin and Punt dal Gall dams.

The valves on the Punt dal Gall dam must be regularly checked and renovated to ensure that the dam works properly and residents are safe.

With PXL SEALS having successfully completed the valve seals for the Hongrin dam renovation, it was therefore natural that HYDRO EXPLOITATION called upon the expertise of PXL SEALS for its high-stakes seals.

Designing valve seals to renovate the guard valves while meeting all the constraints of the site and ensuring the safety of those involved: that was the challenge faced by PXL SEALS.

Once the seals had been made by extrusion, the parts were then assembled on-site by the PXL SEALS ON-SITE intervention team.

Few companies have the knowledge and experience to work on such equipment in which seals play a critical role.

PXL SEAL is the trusted partner for your sealing needs, with a strong presence and responsiveness.

Contact us to discuss your project

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