The Patented Bandfix® ECO Seal
In the past few years, the need for sustainability across all types of industry has become of greater and greater concern. As always, BS Stainless has been ahead of the game, creating innovations that are often imitate but never bettered. One of these is the ECO seal, a new type of wing seal that we began developing eight years ago back in 2016.
In a collaboration with experts at Sheffield Hallam University, BS Stainless spearheaded a process of research and development into stainless steel jacketing, which also included a systematic review of wing seals.
When metal cladding is installed over insulation, it must be held securely in place. Most engineers avoid choosing screws or rivets for this crucial purpose as these fixings have the potential to damage delicate insulation materials, which can have serious impacts on performance and integrity. The puncture holes that they make can also allow the ingress of water, causing corrosion.
Stainless steel bands offer the perfect solution for securing metal jacketing; the bands are threaded through a wing seal and tensioned using a special tool. Far from just being a way to prevent the aforementioned problems caused with screws and rivets, securing metal cladding in this way offers several other advantages. Any required removal of cladding for inspection purposes involves simply and quickly cutting the bands and the cladding can often be used again, something that is impossible if screws or rivets have been used.
Though far superior than other fixing methods, wing seals can fail due to many factors, including corrosion and environmental impacts such as high winds. If the fixings fail, the jacketing that they hold in place will also fail, representing a serious safety risk and necessitating costly, time consuming replacement. That was the reason that BS Stainless decided to vastly improve the wing seal.
During the process of research and development, we considered more than 50 different design options. When we selected the best of these after much testing, we continued to alter the shape until we were certain that we had identified that which provided the optimal final product that displayed the lowest levels of von Mises stress.
Though our new patented ECO seal has 12% less metal content than standard wing seals, adding to its green credentials by saving production energy, it is more than 30% stronger. Its compact size makes it easy to transport and carry; as up to 25% more seals can fit on a single pallet, shipping volume and associated emissions are reduced dramatically. Best of all, the unique design makes installation quicker, easier, more reliable and less expensive.
We invite you to browse our website for more details about the Bandfix® ECO Seal from BS Stainless and to get in touch with our expert technical team if you have any further questions.