Drives Rubber Tubing Case Study

A Solution for General Industry
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The Challenge

A rubber manufacturer wanted to increase chain service life on their vulcanization autoclave. They were using the competitor’s C2102 chain to drive the rubber tube chassis into the autoclave and return it back out. The direction of the chain pushed and pulled every three to five minutes. Due to this heavy shock load, the competitor’s pins kept breaking in half and eventually the chain fell apart – leading to replacements every three to four months.

The Solution

To solve this problem, Drives’ engineers recommended switching to Drives® C2102H – with heavy sidebars – to increase the strength of the chain. Additionally, the chain was altered to feature oversized rollers. The chassis would not only ride on the pins but on the oversized rollers as well, offering added strength.

The Result

At time of publication, Drives C2102H chain had run for over 6 months with no issues and very little wear. Each oven has an annual savings of $13,500. With two ovens, the plant is projected to save $27,000 per year plus labor costs.

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