Tsubakimoto delivers innovative products for the steel industry

Thanks to significant investment in research and development (R&D), Tsubaki is able to offer high levels of engineering in all of its products. Throughout the process of steel manufacture, Tsubaki is able to deliver power transmission products which can reduce the total cost of ownership (TCO) and improve productivity and profitability. Tsubaki uses the newest manufacturing techniques and materials to ensure that its products are able to survive for longer than standard products on the market.

Tsubaki offers high levels of customer service, including a site visit prior to specification to make sure that the requirements of every job are fully understood. This allows its engineers to provide an accurate estimate for the chain's TCO, which makes the total life time savings easy to calculate.

Derek Mack, Sales Director for Tsubaki UK, concludes: "Tsubaki invests heavily in R&D and offers a wide range of products which have been designed for all types of industries and environments. This means that for most applications, even traditional hard-wearing ones, we are able to specify a solution which will last many times longer than a basic chain. We will conduct a site visit prior to specification to make sure that we understand the unique requirements of every job and can offer an accurate estimate for our chain's TCO."

Tsubaki products can be found many applications throughout the Steel Industry.

In the raw material stockyard

The Tsubaki Unloader chain uses technology to provide excellent durability and can be combined with the Unloader sprocket which uses a special hardening process to ensure effective wear resistance. Similarly, Reclaimer chain suffers in difficult conditions, with abrasive material causing accelerated wear between bushes and rollers. Tsubaki's dust-resistant bearing rollers can increase the service life of the Reclaimer chain.

Bucket elevators also have to operate in a very tough environment, where they are used to transfer highly abrasive materials such as iron ore, coal and coke. These materials tend to migrate between the pins and bushings of the chain; a contributing factor to chain elongation which reduces the service life of the chain. Tsubaki's new FB-specification chain for bucket elevators uses a sealing design between the link plates to protect against contamination.

FB-specification chain applies a component with less friction for pin-bushing sliding area (not based on lubricant); the sealing is then mounted between each outer and inner link to prevent external contaminants from entering, while ensuring the minimal friction. The innovation reduces deterioration infringed on sliding areas by contamination and optimises the service life.

While improving chain performance, it is also important to consider the sprockets as well, since they must be matched to the chain properly to give optimum performance. Both the FB-specification chain and the Unloader chain can be used in conjunction with replaceable sprocket tooth segment inserts, which can extend the service life and also reduce maintenance costs and repair time.

The sprocket tooth segment inserts are manufactured with a hardening system and then treated with a special surface improvement to reduce wear whilst maintaining durability. Each single insert can be quickly removed and replaced as necessary when it becomes worn, which significantly reduces down-time during maintenance.

Hot strip mill

In the hot strip mill, chains are used to convey slabs, billets and wire coil and Tsubaki's range of product conveyor chain is designed to account for the product's shape and temperature, as well as the local environmental conditions.

Heavy-duty roller chain has been designed specifically for operation within the most demanding environments, such as the Steel Industry, allowing more compact designs, excellent kilowatt ratings and higher allowable load and tensile strength. Available in sizes 1 to 3 inch pitches, the range covers four chain types and also offers Tsubaki's 4POL feature which allows it to be used with an odd number of links to create the required length of chain.

In some cases, it is necessary to power a series of rollers to form a moving bed, which conveys the rolled steel or billets to the next processing stage. Here the Mitre gearbox is designed specifically to drive a roller as part of the transport system. This gearbox can be linked to several others and enables a single power source to drive a number of rollers at the same speed, providing a reliable and efficient drive system.

To request the Steel Industry brochure, or find out more about Tsubaki chain, contact the Tsubaki Europe sales team through the website, www.tsubaki.eu.