Explore the latest technology trends, career opportunities, and the people behind Schunk’s pioneering solutions

How carbon, graphite, and silicon carbide materials support reliable mechanical seals and bearings in demanding power plant applications.  When a pump fails at a power plant, the consequences can be significant. Reliable seals and bearings are essential to keeping equipment operating under demanding conditions. But how much does material selection influence their performance? A closer look at Schunk’s materials and solutions for power generation shows why choosing the right material early in the design process matters. 

Demand for high-performance batteries continues to grow, placing increasing demands on battery active material production. During calcination, sintering, and coating processes, components must withstand high temperatures while maintaining stable processing conditions. Manufacturers need to ensure consistent product quality while keeping energy consumption low and equipment availability high.  The materials used in these processes play an important role. Their properties affect not only process reliability but also heating and cooling times, maintenance intervals, and the overall cost of production. 

Schunk offers FDA-compliant materials that meet the requirements of EC 1935/2004 — with WRAS, KTW-UBA, California Prop 65 compliance, or PFAS-free options available depending on the application. For pumps, seals, and bearings that need to perform reliably.

Bulkhead seals, stern tube seals, and submarine seals must perform reliably over long periods of operation. Wear, temperature, and exposure to different media place high demands on both the material and the component.  Schunk supports manufacturers of marine sealing systems with materials expertise and precision-manufactured seal rings made of carbon graphite and silicon carbide. Different material grades and designs are available depending on the application. 

Oil quenching is a widely used process in heat treatment to achieve specific mechanical properties. It is essential for many components used in industries such as bearings, gears, and fasteners.  At the same time, oil quenching introduces its own challenges. One factor that is often overlooked is how the quenching oil interacts with fixture materials.  When porous materials are used, oil can enter the material structure during quenching. During subsequent heating cycles, this oil evaporates and can lead to soot formation and contamination inside the furnace.   Over time, these effects impact process stability, maintenance effort, and overall efficiency.

In high-temperature processes such as vacuum brazing or hard soldering, material selection plays a critical role in both efficiency and cost-effectiveness. A factor often overlooked: the charge carrier system. This case study demonstrates why carbon fiber reinforced carbon (CFC) is not only a technical but also a financial advantage over conventional steel. 

In industrial high-temperature processes, such as heat treatment in sintering furnaces, conventional materials like steel quickly reach their physical limits. Starting at around 800 °C, steel significantly loses strength and exhibits noticeable plastic deformation under mechanical load. This leads to sagging support structures and misalignment of components. The high thermal mass of massive steel components also extends heating and cooling times and results in considerable energy losses.

In industrial heat treatment—such as hardening, sintering, or brazing—energy consumption and process stability are critical performance factors. Workpiece carriers and charging systems significantly influence both. While traditional steel designs often hinder efficiency due to their weight and limited thermal resistance, carbon fiber-reinforced carbon (CFC) charging fixtures offer a proven way to reduce energy input and improve overall process performance.

Carbon brushes – also known as sliding contacts – play a key role in transferring electric current between rotating and stationary components. They’re an essential part of electric motors and generators, ensuring continuous electrical connection even at high speeds. From power tools to wind turbines, carbon brushes are everywhere. At Schunk, we develop advanced, application-specific carbon brush solutions based on decades of material expertise and in-depth industry know-how.

Methane pyrolysis is a promising technology for climate-friendly hydrogen production. However, the extreme conditions inside the reactor place enormous demands on materials and components. In this interview, Felix Schmidt explains how Schunk contributes to making this future technology industrially viable—with advanced materials, coating technologies, and engineering expertise.

Parasitic shaft currents are among the most common causes of bearing damage in electric drive systems. Inadequate grounding can lead to costly failures – in rail transport, industrial production facilities, and electric mobility alike. The Schunk Group addresses this challenge with a comprehensive portfolio of grounding systems, ranging from traditional grounding contacts to innovative carbon-based solutions.

The Schunk Group is your innovative partner when it comes to metal injection molding (MIM) at the highest technological level. With over 100 years of material expertise and state-of-the-art MIM technology, we manufacture complex, precise, and series-ready metal components – tailored exactly to the requirements of your industry.

If one of your production plants breaks down, this is associated with high costs. Damaged bearings are often the reason for expensive downtimes. The cause: parasitic currents that find their way through the rolling bearings of the plant. Shaft grounding systems can reliably remedy this situation and discharge voltages to the plant ground. But we know that many of our industrial customers still face a dilemma: This is because shafts with a wide variety of diameters are installed in the gear units of their production plants. This means high storage costs, as they have to keep various sizes of shaft grounding systems in stock for emergencies. We will show you how you can now ground a wide variety of shafts with just one system and reduce your storage costs:

Dry-running rotary vane vacuum pumps are often used when a clean, oil-free vacuum is required in industry. For example, in the chemical industry, paper manufacturing, pharmaceutical industry, food processing, in hospitals and in the packaging industry. Here, the rotary vanes are permanently exposed to high loads, which can lead to rapid wear. With innovative carbon-based materials, service intervals and service life can be significantly extended.  

With decades of know-how in materials and an understanding of the special requirements in various industries, we develop trailblazing solutions together with our customers. The delivery and installation of our products is by no means the end of our involvement with the customer. The visitations of our Scandinavian colleagues to a total of six different hydro power stations provide an example of how our customers also benefit from our extensive experience through after-sales service.
  → Learn more about our solutions for power plants.

Schunk Smart Charging is already in use worldwide as a charging solution for electric buses. But the potential applications of the conductive and wireless charging system are far from exhausted. The technology is also demonstrating its potential in the automated charging of battery-powered mining vehicles. Product Manager Timo Staubach explains the background to this globally unique pilot project.