When chocolate creates demanding sealing conditions, the solution cannot be limited to selecting a mechanical seal. The pump geometry, product behaviour, operating conditions and sealing parameters must be engineered as one integrated system. This approach became the basis of the cooperation between TMXFLOW and Huhnseal.
The cooperation between Sesinoks, now TMXFLOW, and Huhnseal started with the objective of developing a sealing solution integrated into hygienic lobe pumps. From the beginning, the project considered pump geometry, available installation space and different single and double seal configurations.
Chocolate processing creates particularly demanding conditions for a mechanical seal. In addition to its high viscosity, chocolate tends to agglomerate and leave deposits on the sealing surfaces. These residues can interfere with the correct behaviour of the seal faces and, once leakage begins, make it difficult to eliminate in a stable and lasting way.
To address these conditions, Huhnseal developed an application-specific solution, evaluating tungsten carbide seal faces and, depending on the product characteristics, the use of Knife Edge technology.
Knife Edge is not simply a specific seal-face profile. Its successful application requires the coordinated engineering of specific contact pressure, surface roughness of the contacting faces, spring load and balance factor.
These parameters must be calibrated according to the characteristics of the product and the actual operating conditions of the pump.
During the development, an additional challenge emerged: some pump housings had already been manufactured according to an earlier geometry.
Rather than requiring these components to be modified or replaced, Huhnseal redesigned the mechanical seal around the existing pump dimensions and available installation space. This allowed TMXFLOW to retain the pump design while integrating the new sealing solution directly into the machine.
Through drawings, 3D models, prototypes and continuous technical cooperation, the project evolved from an initial sealing requirement into an application-specific engineering solution, developed around the pump, the product and the process.
A Stable Solution to Leakage
The resulting solution provided a stable elimination of the leakage problem.
For TMXFLOW, this means being able to offer its customers not simply a pump fitted with a mechanical seal, but a system in which the pump and sealing solution have been engineered to work together under the specific conditions of chocolate processing.
For the end customer, the result is greater process continuity, improved reliability and reduced seal-related intervention.
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