Valve Plate

A: It's usually a combination of flatness and surface finish. If the sealing face isn't machined flat enough, or the surface has tiny tool marks, oil can creep between the ports under pressure. We machine the sealing face and port holes in one clamping, then check flatness with a straight edge and feeler gauge before shipping. We can also improve the surface finish or adjust the port chamfers to help the O-rings seat better. If you tell us what pressure you're running and where the leak shows up, we'll suggest the right fix - sometimes it's just a matter of holding a tighter tolerance, not changing the whole design.

A: For high-pressure circuits, the plate doesn't just need to be strong - it has to be dense enough that oil can't seep through tiny porosity in the casting. We usually start with a high-grade gray iron for standard pressures, but if your system sees sharp spikes or shock loading, ductile iron is the better call because it handles stress without cracking. For especially sensitive applications, we can also impregnate the casting to seal any micro-voids. Tell us the working pressure, flow rate, and whether the system hammers, and we'll recommend something practical. We can also pressure-test the finished plate before it ships if you want that extra assurance.