On-Site Vulcanization of Shaft Seals — No Disassembly
Replace seals without dismantling the drive or machine.
Together with proven manufacturing and service partners, I develop and provide the right vulcanization fixtures to vulcanize rubber seals directly in situ — on the shaft and in the installed condition. This avoids long downtime, costly disassembly and risky interventions in drive trains.
Typical application: propeller shafts on ships.
Equally suitable for large gearboxes, agitators, pumps, turbines, rolling mills, and installations in power plants, the chemical/process industry, or offshore.
What I do for you
I design tailor-made on-site vulcanization devices (mould, clamping and heating unit) and carry out hot vulcanization directly on the shaft. The seal ring is pre-formed, mounted as an open ring and then thermally closed (vulcanized) at the installation point — creating an endless, tight sealing ring without removing the shaft, gearbox or drive.
Your benefits
No disassembly, less downtime — operations largely continue.
Fast response — mobile service with flexible scheduling (together with partners).
Reliable sealing — process-controlled hot vulcanization with recorded parameters.
Custom solution — fixture and elastomer matched to medium, temperature and rotational speed.
Cost-effective — saves dock/standstill costs and complex modifications.
Typical use cases
Marine / shipping: propeller-shaft seals, shaft seals in drive trains.
Process & power plants: agitators, pumps, compressors, turbines.
Heavy industry: rolling mills, large gearboxes, conveying and mixing equipment.
Offshore & port facilities: winches, drives, special machinery.
Materials & media (project-specific):
Elastomer selected to suit the medium, temperature and mechanical load: NBR / HNBR / FKM / EPDM / Silicone (others on request).
Media e.g. water, seawater, oil, air, chemicals. Temperature and pressure ranges according to the project.
How an on-site assignment runs:
Data capture — shaft Ø, installation situation, medium, temperature/pressure, speed, accessibility.
Feasibility check & functional mock-up/prototype — quick test setup of the sealing concept (geometry / flexible tooling) to verify key parameters and reduce risks and pre-assembly time.
Test-rig verification — project-specific seal test bench with realistic boundary conditions (pressure, temperature, speed, wear level, medium/salinity) as proof of tightness, stability and service life.
Concept & fixture — design and manufacture of the vulcanization tooling (clamping, heating, pressure) based on validated parameters.
Preparation — prepare surface/fit, pre-assemble the open seal ring.
Hot vulcanization — close the ring joint directly on the shaft, process-controlled and documented.
Cooling & finish — rework/adjust if required.
Quality assurance — leak/tightness check, visual and dimensional inspection, documentation.
Safety & monitoring:
Depending on the application, the sealing system can be implemented as a monitored system. I work with you on a safety and monitoring concept, e.g.:
Barrier systems (e.g. buffer/barrier pumps) to reduce leakage even in case of seal malfunction, including partial relief of the main seal.
Sensors for leakage, pressure and temperature monitoring at the seal area.
Signal outputs & interfaces (e.g. to PLC/ship bridge) for alarms, trend logging and shut-down strategies.
Traceability via test data from the test rig and during operation (audit/class compliance as project-required).
Scope of services:
Engineering & design of the on-site vulcanization tooling.
Functional sample / prototyping of the sealing concept for early verification.
Project-specific seal test bench: tests and trials under realistic conditions (pressure, temperature, speed, medium/salinity, wear).
Manufacture/prototyping of mould inserts to size/profile (via partner).
Mobile on-site service incl. process control, QA and final report.
Optional: hand-over/training for repeat deployments at your site.
Optional: safety & monitoring concept (sensors, alarms, interfaces), optionally with operator training.
Limits & boundary conditions:
Shaft diameter, temperature, clearances, energy supply and safety requirements are evaluated per project. I will provide an early, clear assessment of what is feasible — and what is not.
Marine example — without dismantling the propeller shaft:
On ships, removing the propeller or gearbox is extremely expensive. With the on-site process the seal is vulcanized directly on the shaft. This significantly reduces dock time and cost — while ensuring reliable tightness.
Quick enquiry / data check:
Please send: shaft Ø, medium, temperature/pressure, speed, installation situation, location/time window.
I will promptly check feasibility and get back to you with a proposal or quotation.
