Microhydraulics

The Lee Company is a leading supplier of miniature, high-precision fluid-control products to a wide range of industries, including aerospace, Formula 1 Racing, oil exploration, automotive, off-highway equipment and medical/scientific instruments.

The Westbrook, Conn., company’s MicroHydraulic family of products include plugs, restrictors, nozzles, cheks, relief and shuttle valves, line mounts and pressure components.

Plugs are available in diameters from 0.093” to 0.656”, in aluminum, stainless steel and Monel; metric-plug diameters range from 2.50mm to 8.00mm and can be ordered in aluminum or stainless.

The cylindrical plug features a tapered hole part way through its center and numerous small grooves on its OD. It is slipped into a reamed counterbore in the product to be plugged. A tapered pin is then driven into the plug until the ends of the pin and the plug are flush. Controlled expansion causes the lands and grooves of the plug to "bite" into the surrounding material, forming independent seals and retaining rings. This design, reports Lee, results in a positive, reliable, leak- and trouble-proof seal for both liquids and gases.

The design of Lee’s cylindrical plugs provides a “positive, reliable, leak-free seal for liquids and gases.”