Drives Lumber Mill Case Study

A Solution for the Forest Products Industry
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The Challenge

A lumber mill in Canada met a tough challenge with its planer. The chain on the planer was stretched, causing the pusher attachments to get out of sync. This resulted in the boards being fed into the planer at an angle, leading to high scrap rates. In addition, the chain could not be properly lubricated to prevent stretching due to concerns with staining the finished lumber.

The Solution

Drives experts recommended 81X Extended Life CHP® chrome-hardened pin chain. Chrome-hardened pins have a surface hardness equivalent to 70HRC, resulting in exceptional pin wear resistance that increases wear life by up to three times that of competing brands. The mill installed 700 feet of 81X chain with pusher attachments on every sixth link to ensure accurate board feed into the planer.

The Result

Compared to the previous chain installation, Drives® 81X Extended Life CHP chrome-hardened pin chain reduced the mill’s annual production losses by 66 percent and saved the mill $61,232 in annual maintenance costs. Because Drives offers full ranges of ANSI standard attachments and pushers, the lumber mill received an opportunity to customize chain to fit its products and manufacturing processes.

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