In a landmark development between two world leaders in their respective fields, mechanical sealing solutions provider John Crane has announced the signing of a joint development agreement with the Hughes Christensen product line of Baker Hughes.

The deal covers the development of new sealing technologies and products for use on the Tricone range of rock drilling bits manufactured by Baker Hughes.

John Crane has also signed a similar 'back-to-back' agreement with international composite component manufacturer Greene Tweed & Co, whose products may be incorporated into future development work.

John Crane and Baker Hughes will focus on various areas such as the creation of improved seal designs, lower friction sealing elements and a replacement for the traditional O-ring seal used on larger rock bits.

The drilling industry continues to demand ever-more advanced sealing technology. "The cost of retrieving a failed bit inside a drill hole can often be extremely high so each bit is only used for as long as the drilling operator is confident that it will perform properly," said Stuart Hall, technical director for John Crane Northern Europe.

"As a result, Baker Hughes applies exacting quality standards to the mechanical sealing technology it uses, and so signing this agreement is a significant endorsement of John Crane's product quality. Baker Hughes specifies that the critical dimensions of some seal parts are measured to within thousandths of a millimeter, with the thickness of the silver coating applied to some parts measured down to only a few microns.