Non-cut guide rings are used primarily in piston and rod application under .500 inches in diameter.

Introduction

The function of the wear/guide ring is to help keep the piston centered, which allows for even wear and pressure distribution on the seals. Popular wear/guide ring materials include glass filled Nylon, bronze filled PTFE, glass filled PTFE, Phenolic and PEEK. Wear rings are used in both piston and rod applications. Wear/Guide rings are available in Non-cut, Butt cut, Angle cut, Step cut styles and Guide tape.

Wear rings or guide rings provide a bearing surface to center the piston and rod dynamic surfaces in a reciprocating cylinder application. The guide ring prevents metal-to-metal contact and improves seal life performance.

Wear Guides are resilient, wear-resistant, thermoplastic bearings designed to go inside hydraulic applications to support, guide or reduce the friction between the rod and the cylinder body. These wear guides are especially important in applications where heavy side loadings are unavoidable. For example, a heavy side loading over time can cause normal rod bearings to become oval shaped. This oval shaped rod bearing could then cause poor seal performance as the clearance between the rod shaft and the rod seal becomes larger due to wear.  This distortion can lead to excessive fluid leakage, deformation of the rod seals, seal extrusion, and eventually seal blowout.