Mar 31 2008
Advanced long-life plastic and metal chain systems are being incorporated into Dotmar EPP’s materials handling ranges as the company expands its role as a systems supplier in addition to component design and fabrication.
The non-metallic and metallic chain systems – including the world renowned PlastiChain and Mac Metal Chains - are engineered for easy installation and operational durability in applications including water, waste water and heavy industrial and primary product processing, including pulp, paper and timber.
Dotmar EPP’s non-metallic technology - including NM720 and NM78 chain for sedimentation tanks – complements the company’s long-established national leadership in advanced thermoplastics engineering for the wastewater and sewage treatment industries. These chain systems are now complemented by 720 and H 78 metallic types, as well as the extensive Mac chain range, including Mac Steel, H-Type and H-type Drag Chain.
“We are expanding our capabilities to encompass the best in both plastics and metals technologies, while also expanding our overall capabilities to provide entire systems incorporating such products,” says Dotmar EPP General Manager-Sales Mr Scott Foster. “Whereas we were once noted for excellence in individual components (such as wear strips for example), we can now engineer broader packages incorporating chains, rollers, sprockets and other world class conveyor, materials handling and liquids handling technology.”
PlastiChain NM 720 and PlastiChain NM78 chains combine light weight, easy installation, economical cost, corrosion resistance and maintenance-free operation, says Mr Foster. Such systems incorporate advanced components such as PlastiChain NCS 720S, which is moulded from fibreglass-reinforced nylon. Links are of one-piece construction for maximum strength, with self-locking pins press-fitted through one sidebar into the barrel hub, then into the other sidebar. These pins are manufactured from stainless steel, encapsulated in fibreglass reinforced Nylon. Flight attachment links are also moulded in one piece with the sidebars. PlastiChain NM78 drive chains are also made with fibreglass reinforced Nylon, but with stainless steel pins.
Metallic technologies include Mac Steel Chains with induction-hardened rivets and precision taper-fit rivets for reduced wear and increased chain life. These are complemented by Mac H-type chains, a welded steel mill chain for conveying and elevating applications in which a high-strength rollerless chain is required. H-type drag chains, meanwhile, provide an effective and economical alternative to cast chains in rugged applications such as forestry.
“Mac Chain has remained on the cutting edge of materials handling technology, continually providing chain able to withstand the harshest industry environments and coping with the increasing speeds and loads of modern sawmills and pulp and paper mills,” says Mr Foster.
PlastiChain ranges have also established themselves at the forefront of demanding applications, such as clarification, sludge scraping, and dissolved air flotation scum removal. All PlastiChain flights are made with continuous fibre filaments running the full length of the flight to achieve maximum strength. The system eliminates problems associated with greasing and shaft seizing, by fixing the shaft in place with split collars and interlock keys. Sprockets are wholly cast nylon (not polyethylene, which is used in some non-metallic systems, which has only a fraction on the strength of cast nylon). Cast nylon sprockets provide good contact surface with non-metallic chain. The system is lightweight and non-corrosive yet strong enough for heavy duty applications.
Posted May 14th,2006