FB Ketten GmbH

Do you have conveyor chain that often runs on metal or plastic wear strips? If you do then it is important that the hardness of these surfaces and the finished condition of the conveyor chain link plates is carefully considered.

By running a chain on a metal conveyor chain wear strip, that is too hard, you will cause the conveyor chain side plates to wear quickly and thereby dramatically reduce the life of the chain. Conversely, should you be running your conveyor chain on a plastic wear strip then the life of the wear strip will be greatly increased by removing all the sharp edges of the conveyor chain link plates by surface tumbling.

What is surface tumbling?
Tumbling is a simple process where the finished conveyor chain links plates are placed in a container and 'barrelled' in a special abrasive media so that they continually rub against each other and the abrasive stones.

After some time the plates will have been polished and all the sharp edges will have been removed.

The illustration  shows how the sharp corners of the tumbled plates become round and smoother; which ultimately will result in much longer wear strip life.

If you would like to increase the life of plastic conveyor chain wear strips then please ask for your conveyor chain side plates to be tumbled. The potential savings in replacement wear strips, costly machine down time and engineer labour costs will be far greater than the small increase in the basic price of the 'tumbled' conveyor chain.

 Drop forged chain - quality drop forged conveyor chain by FB Chain

Drop forged conveyor chain is sometimes referred to as en-masse conveyor chain or scraper chain. Drop forged chain is commonly fitted with special attachments that are either welded directly onto the drop forged links or alternatively bolted onto lugs that have been welded to the drop forged links. FB drop forged conveyor chains are made from specially selected high grade alloy steels. The plates are through hardened to give them their basic strength as well as make them resistant to excessive wear. The pins are case hardened, which not only makes them extremely resistant to wear, but also maintains their flexible core which results in much improved resistance to shock loading. FB drop forged chains have three main styles; standard, double and triple link.

FB rEVOLUTION scraper chains are the latest generation of scraper chains. They combine the best of two worlds, the wear resistance of drop forged link chains and the innovative and field-proven features of modern FB-conveyor chains with welded pins and bushes, as well as hardened side link plates made of FB1000.

During a meeting with the maintenance manager of a well-known German producer of chip and MDF boards, FB were challenged to provide a forged scraper chain that could run faster, over a longer distance and had an increased working life with reduced down time. When selecting the type of chain to use in a scraper conveyor the benefits of drop forged link chains have to be balanced against the advantages of conveyor chains to meet as many of the customer expectations as possible, but there is always some compromise, in this case our customer did not want to make any concessions.

In reviewing his request the FB team realised that there was an opportunity for an optimized solution of scraper chains for the MDF sector and also for many other sectors with similar ever increasing requirements to reduce operating costs and increase operational up time. They therefore decided to design a scraper chain based on conveyor chain to DIN8167/ISO1977 but using a new link plate material, FB1000 and welded pins and bushes. As a result of using these materials and the optimized construction, the breaking force and fatigue strength are increased by between 30% and 50% compared to DIN–ISO conveyor chains. This new type of scraper chain offers up to 90% larger bearing-area compared to drop forged link chains or round steel chains. The bearing-pressure can thus often be halved which has a very positive effect on the wear and the life of conveyor chains and sprockets.

The next challenge was to fit this new chain to the existing conveyor system with no reconstruction works and no impact on capacity or speed. Based on flexible and modern manufacturing capabilities and tools, FB can build almost any pitch chain. The conveyor symmetry thus remains unchanged. This means that the level of chain-guides, pitch circle diameter of sprockets and diameter of the pulleys require little or no adjustment. Forged chain is mostly driven by split-sprockets with removable-tooth segments. Wear-resistant tooth-segments for the FB rEVOLUTION chains can fitted to the existing hub body saving time, money and trouble.

This style of chain also has a number of other advantages compared to drop forged link chains or round steel chains, including much more space for welding scrapers or attachments. This increased area allows for a stronger weld and the possibility of a greater variety of shapes and designs of scrapers avoiding common issues with welded scrapers on drop forged chain with their case-hardened or high hardness links. If something should get stuck in the conveyor system, FB-rEVOLUTION conveyor chains can also be reversed, unlike drop forged chains which cannot.

The addition of stainless steel and hardened AISI420V pins and bushes allows the chain to be used with moist or acidic conveyed material that is found in scrapers used for wet ash, biomass or coal infeed systems, wood chip or bark as well as for alternative fuels in cement factories and in recycling plants.

Self lube roller chain combines the key features of standard roller chain but requires absolutely no additional lubrication once installed. It is often referred to as lube free chain.

It’s oil-impregnated sintered bushing works in combination with a specially treated bearing pin, by releasing lubricant when and where it is needed.

As the roller chain does not have to be lubricated again, chain life is greatly extended compared to non or poorly lubricated roller chain.

Sprocket wear is also reduced and maintenance schedules extended.

With savings made on lubrication purchase, chain replacement rates as well as increased production, self lube chain is ideal for applications that are difficult to access or where conveyed product must not be contaminated as a result of excessive or dripping lubricant.

Self lube chains can be used in damp environments by applying a special surface treatment to the chain.

Self lube chain supplied by FB comes with a special surface treatment to the chain as standard from stock.

Sprockets - quality sprockets and platewheels for conveyor and roller chain

We stock and manufacture a full range of sprockets for roller chains and conveyor chains.

Roller chain sprockets and platewheels

We are able to provide standard sprockets and platewheels for all simplex, duplex and triplex roller chains. These sprockets and platewheels are usually supplied from stock with our standard pilot bore. However, FB engineering are able to produce custom sprockets and platewheels according to specific requiremets. Products may be rebored, keywayed, drilled or tapped for set screws. Plain bearings, precision roller bearings and needle bearings are routinely fitted according to application.

Speak to one of our sales advisers for more information.

Conveyor chain sprockets

Larger sprockets suitable for the many varied types of metric and imperial conveyor chain are available on short lead times. Whether large or small, all FB conveyor chains are profile cut on the latest laser cutting equipment prior to final machining and finishing to ensure the highest possible quality and consistency.