Stacking Empty Bottles

When a major supplier of plastic bottles used by soft drink and water bottling plants was having palletizer problems, they called in Drives, Inc. The problems were with the matched strands of chain used to raise and lower the palletizer deck.

Since it moved empty bottles, the palletizer problems did not seem to have to do with excess weight. However, the high velocity (600 - 700 feet per minute) and sudden stops and starts were causing premature failure and unscheduled down time. Because the palletizer was a critical link in the production process - and because the plant was running all day, every day - downtime put a major hitch in getting finished goods out the door.

This palletizer stacks the plastic bottles before they are shrink-wrapped. Each palletizer uses four matched strands of 60 riveted chain, 26 feet per strand. Each strand supports a corner of the palletizer deck, and raises and lowers the deck. The chain is vertical and always under load. The chain can not be lubricated because the chain joint may not get penetrated and the plastic drinking bottles could become contaminated.

The original equipment used standard 60 riveted chains and wore out in a short amount of time. Next, a sinter bushed self-lubricating chain was tried. This chain experienced bushing failure. A sinter bushing could not take the high impact from the sudden starting and stopping of the equipment.

When Drives, Inc. visited this facility and assessed the equipment, they suggested the use of Drives USA Extended Life CHP™ chain. Because the end-user intended to replace the chain the following month, they requested price and delivery on the Drives Extended Life CHP™ chain.

However, they decided not to wait. That same afternoon they experienced massive failure of the sinter bushed chain and called Drives, Incorporated. They asked if it was possible to have Drives Extended Life CHP™ chain at their facility in one-and-a-half days.

Since the chain had to be matched and tagged, Drives, Inc. needed to build the four strands of CHP™ chain from the same lot of parts and accomplish this in less than one day. Drives, Inc. met the time constraints and the customer received the chain by 10:00 a.m. the following day.

Drives, Inc. solved the problems with this critical application by introducing a special #60 drive chain constructed with hard chrome plated pins: Extended Life CHP™ Series. The plating on the pins exceeds the hardness level commonly found in standard roller chains and provides exceptional wear resistance without giving up toughness, an important part of this application's requirement.

By understanding the demanding requirements of the application, Drives, Inc. was able to design a solution to the problems the user was experiencing using high quality USA roller chain. The #60 Extended Life CHP™ chain will last two to three times longer than the same size standard chain without sacrificing strength. In this application, process improvement and less frequent maintenance were accomplished by changing to Drives USA Extended Life CHP™ chain.

Now the user can operate longer and more confidently between routine maintenance intervals, increase throughput, lower operating costs, reduce downtime and realize true cost savings throughout the entire life cycle.

About Drives USA Extended Life CHP™ chain:

• CHP hard chrome plated pins possess standard steel's metallurgical properties for toughness and strength while delivering an extremely hard wear resistant pin surface. CHP chain pins resist wear longer than standard heat treated pins, even in dry and abrasive environments.
• CHP offsets available on a made-to-order basis.
• Available in single and multiple strand sizes - #40 to #240.
• Riveted or cottered pins available depending on size.
• Corrosion resistant finishes for components available.
• CHP chain is directly interchangeable with standard ANSI chain.
• Outstanding wear and shock load performance.
• No reduction in working loads or operating speeds.
• Exceptional pin wear resistance reduces chain elongation and can increase wear life by 300% over conventional premium chains.
• Full range of ANSI standard attachments available.

To learn more about Drives, Inc. USA Extended Life CHP™ chain or any of the full line of Drives, Inc. chain products, talk to your IBT sales rep or contact Tim Zerger.

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