Piston Seals

Piston Seals or Piston Rings are used in hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder for fluid sealing to prevent fluid or other media to by-pass the piston as the system pressure pushes the piston down the cylinder during a pressure cycle. Piston seals support sealing contact between a piston and cylinder bore. The fluid generates generates high pressure on the piston seal which increases contact forces between the seal and cylinder surface. For this reason, the correct choice of piston seal is an important factor when designing or repairing a hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder.

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Piston seals designed for bidirectional pressure

Single-acting

Single-acting pistons only hold pressure on one side of the piston. The seal is required to retain pressure from that direction, which then moves the piston along the cylinder. A single acting/uni-directional piston seal will have only one sealing lip that is in contact with the cylinder wall or bore.

Double-acting

The best sealing ability of a double-acting cylinder, capable of sealing dynamic pressure from both sides (bidirectional), is achieved by choosing a double-acting seal. A double acting/bi-directional piston seal will have two separate sealing lips, one for each side of the piston head.

Double-acting pistons hold pressure on both sides of a piston without leakage. They allow maximum mechanical effort to moving the piston along the bore of a cylinder.

Piston seals, both single and double-acting, can be designed for and used with integrated or separate back-up rings and guide rings.

Get professional assistance

M Seals offers a wide range of high-performance piston seals in a variety of materials and can engineer a solution for the most arduous of applications.

The material you choose will depend on the application and the conditions the seal will be exposed to. Reach out to us if you need guidance in choosing the right material for your application.

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