Development and manufacture of mechanical seals, seal-support systems, couplings and filtration technology for the process industries.
John Crane
More than 200 locations in more than 50 countries (historical headquarters in Chicago, USA)New on Amplifa
About John Crane
John Crane is a manufacturer of fluid-control and sealing technologies with a founding history in Chicago, where the company was established in 1917 as Crane Packing Company. The portfolio includes mechanical seals, seal-support systems such as pressure vessels, gas-seal control consoles, heat exchangers and abrasive separators, seal-face technologies, power transmission couplings (rigid, elastomer, gear, diaphragm), packing as well as filtration systems and interchangeable filter elements for liquid, gas and polymer applications. Manufacturing includes, among other things, lapping processes for seal faces, precision-micromachined seal-face patterns and ultrananocrystalline diamond coating (UNCD). Materials range from PTFE and elastomers to tungsten carbide seal faces and metal bellows. Customer industries include oil and gas, chemicals, power generation, new energy (hydrogen, CCUS), marine, polymer, pharmaceuticals and water management. The company is part of Smiths Group and operates more than 200 manufacturing, sales and service locations in more than 50 countries.
- Site
- More than 200 locations in more than 50 countries (historical headquarters in Chicago
- Processes
- Manufacture of filtration systems and filter elements (liquid, gas, polymer), Manufacture of mechanical seals, Precision micromachining of seal faces (micromachined patterns), Diamond coating of seal faces (ultrananocrystalline diamond, UNCD), Lapping process for mechanical seals, Manufacture of seal support systems (pressure vessels, gas-seal control consoles, heat exchangers,, Manufacture of power transmission couplings (rigid, elastomer, gear, diaphragm,, Manufacture of packing (compression, automatic, floating, injectable packing)
- Materials
- PTFE, Tungsten carbide (seal face), Ultrananocrystalline diamond (UNCD, seal-face coating), Elastomer (bellows seals, elastomeric couplings), Metal (metal bellows, Type 680), Elastomer, Tungsten Carbide, Ultrananocrystalline Diamond (UNCD)
- Founded
- 1917
- Industries
- Oil and Gas, Chemicals, Power Generation, New Energy (Hydrogen, CCUS), Marine, Polymer
- 01
Engineering and design
- 02
Lapping of seal faces
- 03
Micromachining of seal-face patterns
- 04
Diamond coating (UNCD)
- 05
Assembly of seals, couplings and systems
- 06
API 682-compliant testing in the test center
- 07
Service via the Performance Plus network
Materials and Processes
PTFE
Used in the Type 9 PTFE wedge seal for applications involving aggressive chemicals.
Elastomer
Material for elastomer bellows seals and elastomeric couplings.
Tungsten Carbide
Seal-face material of the Type 26 for enhanced durability and longer service life.
Ultrananocrystalline Diamond (UNCD)
Coating for seal faces for heat dissipation, wear reduction and dry-running capability.
Metal Bellows
Material concept of the Type 680 metal bellows for environmentally critical fluids.
Industries
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacture of filtration systems and filter elements (liquid, gas, polymer)Engineering | – | – | – | – | – |
| Manufacture of mechanical sealsAssembly | – | – | – | – | – |
| Precision micromachining of seal faces (micromachined patterns)Surface | – | – | – | – | – |
| Diamond coating of seal faces (ultrananocrystalline diamond, UNCD)Surface | – | – | – | – | – |
| Lapping process for mechanical sealsSurface | – | – | – | – | – |
| Manufacture of seal support systems (pressure vessels, gas-seal control consoles, heat exchangers,Assembly | – | – | – | – | – |
| Manufacture of power transmission couplings (rigid, elastomer, gear, diaphragm,Assembly | – | – | – | – | – |
| Manufacture of packing (compression, automatic, floating, injectable packing)Assembly | – | – | – | – | – |
| API 682-compliant testing and test center for sealing technologiesTesting | – | – | – | – | – |
Additional services
History
- 1917
Founded as Crane Packing Company by John Crane in Chicago; repair of leaking coolant pumps with lead foil
- 1920–1923
Global expansion to England, Canada and Italy (Crane Packing Limited)
- 1930er
Development of mechanical sealing technologies; first John Crane seals on Chrysler water pumps (1938); acquisition of Crane Packing Limited by Tube Investments (1939)
- 1943
Introduction of the Type 1 general duty component seal; later the Type 6 elastomer bellows and Type 9 PTFE wedge seals
- 1949
Introduction of the first fully assembled cartridge seal
- 1950er
Patents for two rotating mechanical seals
- 1960er
Product expansion including the Cycloclean abrasive separator and Type 8B1 (NSF 61-compliant)
- 1970er
Type 26 with hard-metal seal face; first non-contacting dry gas seal, the Type 28
- 1984
First use of a dry gas seal in a steam turbine
- 1987
TI Group acquires the remaining John Crane operations
- 1990er
Type 2800E zero-emission seal; acquisitions: Lemco (1990), C. Lee, Safematic, Flexibox (1998) with the METAstream diaphragm coupling
- 2000
John Crane becomes part of Smiths Industries (today Smiths Group)